“This is Muş, the road is uphill. There is no one who does not feel sad while listening to this song. But when he listens to his story knowingly, it affects people much more deeply. The Turku is a lament that those who go to the provinces of Yemen do not return and lament to tell the pain of those left behind.
The Ottoman Empire fought a very difficult war in the deserts of Yemen. The soldiers who participated in this war never came back. The superiority of the enemy forces and the desert heat caused many casualties. Almost everyone who left died, and the survivors did not return.
Since the Ottoman Empire fought on many fronts during the war, it wanted to send soldiers to the war in Yemen. In this regard, he deemed it appropriate to go with a regiment to be established in a province on the territory of the country. It was thought that since those who went from a single province would be relatives and close, their solidarity with each other would be better and they would not flee from the war environment. In this regard, news was sent all over the country and there were long waits. No one was willing at first. However, news came from Muş that we are ready to go to the deserts of Yemen, from Bulanık, Malazgirt and Varto. When the number is sufficient, a redif unit formed in Muş is sent to Yemen.
It is a folk song that tells the longing and pain of the loved ones and their relatives who went to Yemen and were left behind by the unnamed heroes who were never heard from again. With this black news reaching Muş, shrieks and laments were made from the houses. Almost every home has a funeral. But the corpse itself does not exist. Due to the large number of funeral homes, fires were lit in many parts of the city and meals were cooked. Due to the burning of fire in many places, dense smoke has formed in the sky. The young girl, who had not heard this dark news after her fiancé, who went to Yemen and never heard from again, said the following words on August, unable to make sense of all the smoke and wails;
There is no cloud in the air, what a smoke
There is no death in the neighborhood, what is this?
How good are these Yemeni hands
In an interview about Yemen, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk could not hold back his tears and said the following:What were Anatolian children doing in the deserts of Yemen? Maybe they were newlyweds when they were sent there. They left their young wives behind and their babies in swaddling. If one of them was lucky enough to return, he and his wife would have grown old, if the child was a girl, he would have reached the age of wedding dress, and if it was a boy, he would have become a whole young man. Why was all this? Wasn’t it a pity for our children?”
Lyrics of Yemen Folk Song:
There is no cloud in the air, what a smoke
There is no death in mehle, what a splendor
How good are these Yemeni hands
Ano is Yemen, its rose is fenugreek
Outgoing is not coming, why is acep
This is mus’tur road, there is no slope
The outgoing doesn’t come, what’s the deal?(Chorus)
The waters of Mongok flow into the plain.
My brother became a soldier, my heart hurts
My eyes look at my blood bowl
(Chorus)
If I go, my brother, I will be your slave
Let Cemal have a smile, I’ll come too
Let me die with you in the deserts of Yemen
(Chorus)
The vineyards of the dawn
Your baby cries for sitting
Your longing can’t endure orchards bind
(Chorus)
Let me get the strand of my hair, hedayet
My sin is condensed that my wish is regret
Is there no custody other than Muş?
(Chorus)
Reeds are played in front of the barracks
My eyes are crying, my heart is aching
Girls are crying for those who go to Yemen
(Chorus)
Come quickly, my brother, come quickly, won’t you have fun?
English is good, can’t you trust
Arab belle is very long, don’t you get married
(Chorus)
Blackwater stretches rows of willows
My captain sits and advises the soldier
Going to Yemen, father, braves
(Chorus)
There is a redif sound in front of the barracks
Open the bag and see what’s wrong
Has a pair of boots and a fez
(Chorus)
Rifles frowned, eyebrows frowned
Agama mauser-ilen item thrown
Laid in the sand in alkanes
(Chorus)
Come quickly, my brother, come quickly, I can’t stand it
I can’t wake up
I can’t believe my brother is dead
(Chorus)
