Poetry: Ashraf AboArafe
O Salih Mutlu Şen, you came with tidings bright,
From Bosphorus waves to Cairo’s light.
You carried treasures—books of golden gleam,
Stories where Egypt and Turkey dream.
“Three Centuries”—a family’s thread,
Binding two shores where histories wed.
“Islamic Art in the Ottoman Age”—
The call to prayer etched on every page.
“From the Nile to the Bosphorus”—Mohamed Ali’s reign,
Domes and harbors, a royal chain.
“Remembering the Ottoman Past”—a lamp in night,
Guiding the present with a scholar’s sight.
“The Turkish Kitchen”—flavors that bind,
Cinnamon whispers and saffron mind.
“The Ottoman State: History and Grace”—
A mirror of time in a timeless space.
“Turks in Egypt: Their Cultural Trace”—
A voice from İhsanoğlu’s embrace.
“Across People”—Pasha’s pen did glide,
Where noble stories in silence abide.
“Egypt in the Ottoman Era”—a leaf from IRCICA’s lore,
A bridge from yesterday to forevermore.
İhsanoğlu was born where Cairo sings,
Between Al-Azhar’s wisdom and Khan’s rings.
From the Nile’s warmth to Bosphorus’ call,
East met West in his heart’s hall.
O Salih Mutlu Şen, you walked Khan el-Khalili’s lane,
Weaving friendship’s silken chain.
Between Egypt and Turkey, you sowed the seeds,
That bloomed in books, in minds, in noble deeds.
Now hearts are bridged with roses rare,
And every pen takes flight through air.
