An Observer Who Mirrors Changing Civilization Paradigms: Egyptian Yahya Haqqi

Abstract

Yahya Hakkı who is one of remarkable literary figures of Egypt, was born as a son of an Albanian mother with a Turkish father in a modest house in Cairo in the year of 1905 and has died in Cairo in 1992. He served as diplomat in various countries after graduation from Faculty of Law, Cairo University. In this frame; he served in Istanbul in between the years of 1930-1934 as well as in the Egyptian embassy, Ankara in between the years of 1951-1952. He learned Turkish at a level to translate from the press and to follow the press in the time he was in Istanbul. He visited many cities and villages and then acquired impressions about those places in the time he was in Turkey. His work named Zikreyât Matviyye (memories that remained hidden) could not come to light for many years. Finally in the year of 1993, namely one year later from his death, it was able to be printed with the efforts of Neha Yahya Hakkı, his daughter. He recorded his cultural, art, social, political, economic and military impressions that he acquired in the time he was in Istanbul to the history with the selis style. What he present to the reader is not only transfer but they are the articles that pass through the sieve of observation and analysis.