Erdogan Announces Turkey’s 2026 Vefa Award for Kurdish Poet Ehmedê Xanî
Erdogan announced the award recipients on Thursday, in a post on his social media account on X, honoring Xanî for his enduring legacy in Kurdish literature and intellectual thought.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that renowned Kurdish poet and literary figure Ehmedê Xanî will receive the Vefa Award as part of Turkey’s 2026 Presidential Culture and Arts Grand Awards.
Erdogan announced the award recipients on Thursday, in a post on his social media account on X, honoring Xanî for his enduring legacy in Kurdish literature and intellectual thought.
In his message, the Turkish president expressed appreciation for the award recipients’ contributions to science, culture, and the arts, while paying tribute to Xanî.
“I extend my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to the distinguished figures in science, culture, and the arts who have been deemed worthy of the Presidential Culture and Arts Grand Awards for their unparalleled contributions and services to our country. I also remember with respect one of the shining stars of the world of heart, soul, and thought, His Excellency Ehmedê Xanî,” Erdogan wrote.
Turkey’s Presidential Culture and Arts Grand Awards are presented annually to recognize distinguished individuals and creative figures for their contributions across various fields, including literature, music, cinema, science, and culture.
This year’s awards honored several prominent figures in different categories, with the special Vefa Award dedicated to Xanî.
Born in 1650 in the Hakkâri region, Ehmedê Xanî was a prominent Kurdish scholar, mystic, and poet who died in 1707. He is widely regarded as a pioneering figure in Kurdish national consciousness and a major contributor to the development of Kurdish literary and intellectual traditions.
His best-known work, Mem û Zîn, written in 1692, is a tragic romantic epic widely regarded as a masterpiece of Kurdish literature and a symbol of Kurdish national identity. Through the story of two lovers, the work explores themes of love, social divisions, and political disunity among the Kurds.
Xanî’s literary legacy remains influential in Kurdish culture, with his work continuing to be celebrated for its contribution to Kurdish language, literature, and national consciousness.