Although the poetry of Yunus Emre (c. 1240-c. 1320) is well-known throughout the Turkish-speaking world, little reliable information exists about the life of the poet. What can be ascertained comes from the probably apocryphal legends and scant autobiographical allusions in his poetry. According to a frequently repeated legend, one year when the harvest in his village was scant, Yunus Emre approached a local dervish lodge to solicit food. There he met Haci Bektas¸ Veli (1201-1271), founder of the Bektas¸is, a mystical order that later had close ties to an elite Ottoman military guard known as the Janissary Corps. When Yunus Emre begged for wheat, Haci Bektas¸ offered him blessings instead. Three times Yunus refused this offering, and finally he received the wheat. On the way home, realizing his mistake, Yunus turned around and headed back to the dervish lodge for the blessing. But he had missed his chance, said Haci Bektas¸, who referred Yunus to Taptuk Emre. Thus began 40 years of spiritual instruction with this teacher, during which Yunus Emre began to compose mystical poetry. From the verses themselves, it seems that he was fairly well educated; his poetry shows knowledge of the sciences of his day, and of some Persian and Arabic as well as the Turkish language.
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