İstiklal Marşı - Independence March, Turkish National Anthem
İstiklal marşı, meaning the 'Independence March', is the Turkish national anthem. It was written by Mehmet Akif Ersoy and officially adopted on March 12, 1921. A nationwide competition was held for selecting the national anthem of the new born Turkish Republic after the Turkish war of independence. A total of 724 poems were submitted to this event and the 10-verse poem written by Mehmet Akif Ersoy was adopted unanimously by the Turkish Grand National Assembly.

Another competition was held to select the most suitable musical composition for the national anthem and 24 composers submitted their works for this event. The council, in 1924, adopted the music composed by Ali Rıfat Çağatay and this music was used until 1930 to sing the words of the national anthem. After this date, the music of the national anthem was changed with the music composed by Osman Zeki Üngör, conductor of the Presidential Symphonic Orchestra. Since then, the words of the Turkish National Anthem have been sung with this musical composition. Out of the 10 verses, only the first two are sung with music. You can download the mp3 version of the Turkish National Anthem, Independence March (Istiklal Marsi) here:

Download İstiklal Marşı mp3

And here is the poem, with the whole 10 verses and its translation into English:

İstiklal Marşı Independence March
Korkma! Sönmez bu şafaklarda yüzen al sancak;
Sönmeden yurdumun üstünde tüten en son ocak.
O benim milletimin yıldızıdır, parlayacak!
O benimdir, o benim milletimindir ancak!
Çatma kurban olayım, çehreni ey nazlı hilâl;
Kahraman ırkıma bir gül... Ne bu şiddet, bu celâl?
Sana olmaz dökülen kanlarımız sonra helâl;
Hakkıdır Hakk'a tapan, milletimin istiklâl.

Ben ezelden beridir hür yaşadım, hür yaşarım.
Hangi çılgın bana zincir vuracakmış? Şaşarım!
Kükremiş sel gibiyim: Bendimi çiğner, aşarım.
Yırtarım dağları, enginlere sığmam, taşarım.

Garb'ın âfâkını sarmışsa çelik zırhlı duvar;
Benim imân dolu göğsüm gibi serhaddim var.
Ulusun, korkma! Nasıl böyle bir îmanı boğar,
"Medeniyyet!" dediğin tek dişi kalmış canavar?

Arkadaş! Yurduma alçakları uğratma sakın;
Siper et gövdeni, dursun bu hayâsızca akın.
Doğacaktır sana va'dettiği günler Hakk'ın,
Kim bilir, belki yarın, belki yarından da yakın.

Bastığın yerleri "toprak!" diyerek geçme, tanı!
Düşün altındaki binlerce kefensiz yatanı.
Sen şehîd oğlusun, incitme, yazıktır atanı:
Verme, dünyaları alsan da, bu cennet vatanı.

Kim bu cennet vatanın uğruna olmaz ki fedâ?
Şühedâ fışkıracak toprağı sıksan, şühedâ!
Cânı, cânânı, bütün varımı alsın da Hudâ,
Etmesin tek vatanımdan beni dünyâda cüdâ.

Rûhumun senden ilâhî şudur ancak emeli:
Değmesin ma'bedimin göğsüne nâ-mahrem eli!
Bu ezanlar - ki sehâdetleri dînin temeli -
Ebedî, yurdumun üstünde benim inlemeli.

O zaman vecd ile bin secde eder - varsa - taşım;
Her cerîhamdan, İlâhi, boşanır kanlı yaşım;
Fışkırır rûh-i mücerred gibi yerden na'şım!
O zaman yükselerek Arş'a değer, belki, başım!

Dalgalan sen de şafaklar gibi ey şanlı hilâl!
Olsun artık dökülen kanlarım hepsi helâl.
Ebediyyen sana yok, ırkıma yok izmihlâl:
Hakkıdır, hür yaşamış, bayrağımın hürriyet;
Hakkıdır, Hakk'a tapan, milletimin istiklâl.

Mehmet Âkif ERSOY
Fear not! For the crimson flag that proudly waves in these dawns, shall never fade,
Before the last fiery hearth that is ablaze within my nation burns out.
And that, is the star of my nation, and it will forever shine;
It is mine; and solely belongs to my nation.

Frown not, I beseech you, oh thou coy crescent,
But smile upon my heroic nation! Why the anger, why the rage?
The we shed for you will not be worthy otherwise;
For freedom is the absolute right of my God-worshipping nation.

I have been free since the beginning and forever will be so.
What madman shall put me in chains! I defy the very idea!
I'm like the roaring flood; powerful and independent,
I'll tear apart mountains, exceed the heavens and still gush out!

The lands of the of the West may be armored with walls of steel,
But I have borders guarded by the mighty chest of a believer.
Recognize your innate strength! And think: how can this fiery faith ever be killed,
By that battered, single-toothed monster you call "civilization"?

My friend! Leave not my homeland to the hands of villainous men!
Render your chest as armor! Stop this disgraceful rush!
For soon shall be come the day of promised freedom...
Who knows? Perhaps tomorrow? Perhaps even sooner!

See not the soil you tread on as mere earth,
But think about the thousands beneath you that lie without even shrouds.
You're the noble son of a martyr, take shame, hurt not your ancestor!
Unhand not, even when you're promised worlds, this paradise of a homeland.

What man would not die for this heavenly piece of land?
Martyrs would gush out if you just squeeze the soil! Martyrs!
May God take all my loved ones and possessions from me if he will,
But may he not deprive me of my one true homeland for the world.

O Lord, the sole wish of my heart is that,
No infidel's hand should touch the bosom of my temple.
These adhans, the shahadah of which is the base of the religion,
Shall sound loud over my eternal homeland.

Then my tombstone - if there is one - will a thousand times touch its forehead on earth (like in salah) in ,
O Lord, tears of flowing out of my every wound,
My corpse will gush out from the earth like a spirit,
And then, my head will perhaps rise and reach the heavens.

So flap and wave like the dawning sky, oh glorious crescent,
So that our every last drop of may finally be worthy!
Neither you nor my nation shall ever be extinguished!
For freedom is the absolute right of my ever-free flag;
For freedom is the absolute right of my God-worshipping nation!
Mehmet Âkif ERSOY