“Facing Pharaoh,” prepared by theater artist Ahmet Yenilmez inspired by our national poet Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s immortal work “Safahat,” met the audience under the hosting of Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University (İZÜ).
The play, staged within the scope of a nationwide tour covering 81 provinces across Türkiye under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye and Halkbank, was met with great interest by our students. In the play, in which artist Ahmet Yenilmez and his son Burak Alp Yenilmez took part, traditional theatrical language was blended with modern technology. Our national poet was virtually brought once again to oppressed geographies such as Bosnia, Karabakh, Khojaly, Iraq, Syria, and Gaza through the use of hologram technology. Through this technology, Akif’s call for awakening during the disintegration period of the empire was intertwined with developments in the Islamic world from the 1990s to the present day. During the performance, images of war and massacres projected onto the stage drew attention to the current sufferings of Muslims and created emotional moments for the audience.
“WHAT WAS WRITTEN A HUNDRED YEARS AGO DESCRIBES TODAY”
Making statements within the scope of the event, the master artist emphasized the relevance of Mehmet Akif’s vision and said: “It is as if Mehmet Akif Ersoy wrote Safahat a hundred years ago thinking about today. He personally experienced the Balkan tragedy; Bosnia did not make those days seem distant. What he wrote back then seems to describe the Khojaly Massacre. While reading Safahat before the month of Ramadan, a verse attracted me and I said, ‘Yes, it is necessary to confront Pharaoh.’ When the play ends, people say, ‘What happened a hundred years ago is the same as what is happening today.’ As Akif said: ‘If lessons had been taken, would history repeat itself?’ Our audience makes exactly this reflection as they leave the hall.”
Inviting its audience to deep reflection and questioning, “Facing Pharaoh” will continue to meet audiences across Türkiye as part of its tour.