A small town outside Eskişehir.
Sarıköy.
Selenga arrived with her mother. They stepped off the bus. Narrow streets. Stone houses.
In the distance, a shrine.
“Did Yunus Emre live here?” Selenga asked.
“According to tradition, yes. But exactly where he came from is debated. He has shrines in many places.”
“Why?”
“Because he was so beloved that everyone claimed him as their own.”
Poetry
They entered a small museum next to the shrine.
Poems covered the walls.
Selenga read aloud:
"My Yunus doesn't boast of skill, He speaks what he knows, His words come from the heart, And fall like a nightingale's song."
“What does this mean?” she asked.
"Yunus is saying: I don't speak to show off. I speak what I know. Words come from the heart."
"It's simple Turkish."
"That's exactly what made him special. Seven hundred years ago, poems were written in Arabic or Persian. Yunus wrote in Turkish. In a language villagers could understand."
The Master's Test
A painting hung in the museum.
An elderly man. A young man standing before him.
“Who are they?” Selenga asked.
"Tapduk Emre and Yunus. Yunus came to Tapduk's door wanting to become his student. Tapduk looked at him and turned him away. 'Go, wander,' he said."
"Why didn't he accept him?"
“To test him. Yunus carried firewood on the mountain for his teacher for years. He never brought a single crooked piece. Only after many years was he accepted.”
“Why was straight firewood so important?”
"Because he believed 'service cannot be crooked.' Doing your work right shows your character."
Selenga thought about this.
Poems of Love
“What did Yunus write about most?”
“Love. He saw love in everything. He loved people. He loved nature. He said that by loving animals, we learn to love people.”
One poem in the museum caught Selenga's eye:
“I love all creation, Because of the Creator.”
“These two lines are short but so deep,” Selenga said.
“Philosophy in two lines,” her mother agreed.
“What does it mean?”
"Love every living thing — because something created them. And if you love that Creator, you'll love everything He made."
Selenga looked at the poem.
Two lines. Seven centuries old.
Still speaking to hearts.
What We Learned From This Story
1. Yunus Emre was a Turkish poet and mystic who lived in the 13th-14th centuries; his exact birth and death dates are debated by scholars.
2. While poets of his time wrote in Arabic and Persian, Yunus wrote in Turkish — this is why he became known as the people's poet.
3. His poems explore themes of love, tolerance, humility, and seeing humanity as creation's greatest treasure.
4. UNESCO declared 1991 the Year of Yunus Emre to honor his universal message.
5. Yunus Emre cultural centers have opened in many countries — the timeless language of his poetry has made him a bridge between cultures.
Questions to Discuss as a Family
1. How does the poem “I love all creation, because of the Creator” make you feel?
2. Why is it important to explain things in a way everyone can understand?
3. Can you write something today that people might still read 700 years from now?