ATATÜRK’S MOST FAVOURITE SONGS

The question was still in my mind even though many years had passed.

The chance arrose to clarify this question. When the Atatürk was in the military academy, his classmates Selanikli Tevfik, Hayri, Süleyman, Köprülü İsmail Hakkı, Arif and another classmate from the class after Suat gathered at every opportunity. Hayri and Suat had been playing Ud, Arif playing Ney and Atatürk singing in their amateur Fasıl Music Group.

The narrator of these memories Burhanettin Ökte, listed Atatürk’s most favourite songs as follow.

1- Ben şehid-i badeyim dostlar beni yadeyleyim

2- Yeter artık ceker oldum şu cihanın gamını

3- Yarab ne eksilirdi deryay-i izzetinden

4- Nihansın dideden ey mest-i nazım

5- Habgah-ı yare girdim arziçün ahvalimi

6- Cana rakibi handan edersin

7- Bir katre için çeşme-i pü hunı fenadan

8- Şahane gözler şahane

9- Atladım bahçene girdim

10- Dil seni sevmeyeni sevmede lezzet mi olur?

11- Aşk ateşi sinemde yine şule feşandır

Atatürk also did not like some songs. For example:

He didn’t like the song starting with “Karşıyaka’da İzmirin gülü” (İzmir’s rose in Karşyaka) we could easily see the great love affair when he was saying “we smelled that rose very much”.