Turkish - Egyptian Relations in the Era of Atatürk (1926-1938)

Abstract

The historical roots of Turkish-Egyptian relations date back to the beginnings of the XVIth Century. Egypt, coming under the rule of the Ottoman as of 1517, was occupied by Britain in 1882. As a result of the intensive efforts of the people denying the occupation, Egypt gained its independence in 1922. During their anti-imperialist struggle, Egyptian people did not hesitate to give moral and financial support to the Turkish, who were also fighting against imperialism. Turkish-Egyptian diplomatic relations were established in 1926. In those years, relations were not so warm. However, the leaders of the two countries made efforts both in discourse and action in order to improve or at least to keep relations at a certain level. Still, these efforts could not prevent occasional tensions in relations. Such a strain was not observed after 1934. The Italian threat becoming evident as of that year has been one of the significant reasons for it During the era of Atatürk, commercial and cultural relations were also established between the two countries, as well as political ones. However, the former were quite symbolical and stayed in the shade of the political relations