Abstract
Nile River in The Classical Turkish Literature Texts
Nile River which is a source of life and prosperity for
Egypt has played a very important role in the country’s
socio-cultural life during the history. Detailed information
was given it the old texts about the water characteristics of
Nile River, the path it follows after originating from its
spring, its branches, its delta and its impact on the social
life. Being the longest river in the world and the
uncertainty of its originating spring location, there has
been various speculations about its spring origin. Those
speculations together with some religious and mythical
information led to Nile River to attain holiness and
mystery. Flooding of Nile River during certain periods has
been vital for the people of Egypt and celebrated with
special events and festivals as it has been used for irrigation
since the ancient times. Ottoman poets also mention
various similes and images on Nile River and especially on
its rise of water in their couplets using linguistic tricks and
connotations. In this work, the information obtained from
various classical sources has been compiled and examined
to reveal the real and observational as well as fictitious and
legendary aspects of Nile River through the sample
couplets selected from the classical Turkish poetry.
Keywords
Classical Turkish literature, water, Egypt, Nile River, Evliya Çelebi, Seyahatnâme.