Cephe (Vanguard, in the translation used by the magazine), a magazine published in Egypt during the Second World War, is the last Turkish periodical whose publication in that country we have been able to verify. The first issue of its first series appeared on 15 January 1943. It was published by Suud Fehameddin Kemali Soylemezoglu (1915-82), who left Turkey for Egypt between 1943 and 1945 and took up residence there for a period. The special issues of the first series contained articles and other items in English and French. From the start of the second series, it appeared in Turkish only.
Cephe (Vanguard) in the hands of its readers
Soylemezoglu seems to have been responsible also for editing the newspaper. The copies we have been able to see, however, all belong to the second series. A note about the newspaper appears in the first issue of the second series, dated January 1945, that says, ""Vanguard newspaper, through whose pages we follow world events and the successes of the Allies, begins publishing exclusively in Turkish starting with this issue, and with the permission of the Turkish government.” In the same article, it is stated that one of the paper’s basic goals is to acquaint the peoples of England and Turkey with the social, cultural, and artistic developments and achievements occurring in each country and thus establish a strong and comprehensive familiarity of each people with the other that may serve as a basis for the exchange of understandings and opinions between the Turks and the English. Since we have not seen the newspaper’s previous issues, it is difficult to form a complete picture of it. In its pages are to be found—in addition to news of the successes of the Allies—numerous articles and pictures relating to fashion,
Issue dated November 1946 of Cephe (Vanguard), the last newspaper in Turkish to be printed in Egypt
Sports, the cinema, agriculture, health, technology, and so on. The numerous news items published concerning Turkey and England show that it always disseminated material favorable to England. Issue IV/7, dated April 1947 (thus after the end of the war), includes a statement that the newspaper will cease publication in Cairo from then on, so that it may resume publication in improved form in London.
World History
