Background
He was born in Bodrum and died in Istanbul.
He was born in Bodrum and died in Istanbul.
His name is occasionally misspelled as Neyzen Teyfik. His interest in poetry influenced him into meeting with Mehmet Akif Ersoy. As was the case with many other intellectuals of his period, Tevfik"s satirical poetry critical of the conservative sultan Abdul Hamid II resulted in his exile to Egypt in 1903, which he later visited again between 1908 and 1913.
Neyzen Tevfik"s fame in popular Turkish culture is mainly due to his virtuosity with the ney.
The disbeliever"s book has neither beginning nor education A few pages from its middle is all we ever grasp.
Foreign religion"s sake and fear of blasphemy we endure woe. Reason cannot perceive where righteousness may go.
His religious views were highly mixed and tend to change in accordance with his mood.
Yet, in his last years, he wrote a poem "Türk"e Birinci Öğüt" (First counsel to the Turk) in which a verse, regarding religious institutions mentioned before the verse, says: "Varsa aslı bunların alemde siksinler beni." (If any of these are true, well, fuck me).