KEMAL BEY The Cairo Campaign

Salim Ilkucan

Kemal Bey

Salim Ilkucan and Kemal Bey Submitted by Naci Yavuz Courtesy of Stuart Kline, 1-31-06

 

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES via email from Stuart Kline, 1-31-06 Dear Ole & Friends,      I had an adventure of a day yesterday culminated with the acquisition of these amazing attached photos. Apparently, according to the gentleman who provided me with them, Naci Yavuz, the source of these photos is Denmark. Your comments regarding them are highly appreciated.      The hi-rez photos were taken in May, 1914 in either Beirut or Egypt. The pilots in the close-up shots are Salim Ilkucan and Kemal Bey, the great-uncle of Kemal Dervis, who works at the UN. The aircraft is the "Edremit" Blériot XI.

 

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES - ADDENDUM via email from Wassim Chemaitelli, 4-7-06 Dear Ralph      Thank you for your message. I agree with your identification of Salim Bey and Kemal Bey. The 1914 photo was taken in Cairo and not in Beirut. This can be assumed by the people's dress, and is confirmed by the date; the pilots were in Beirut in April and got to Egypt only in May 1914 (the chronology of their flight is also on my page).      The Cedarjet Pages are a hobby of mine. I can only share your fascination with these early pioneers and congratulate you for your nice tribute page. Please feel free to use any info you need for your site from the Cedarjet Pages. Best Regards, Wassim..

 

"Edremit" Blériot XI. Cairo, Egypt - May, 1914 Submitted by Naci Yavuz Courtesy of Stuart Kline, 1-31-06

 

ONLINE RESOURCES      If you search for "Kemal Bey" +aviation, using the Google search engine, (4-15-06), you will find about 58 links, several of them in English. Among the most helpful are the following.

GOLDEN WINGS "A Story of Courage" "The Cairo Campaign Newspapers printed this story on February 6, 1914; it was to be understood only later that this was the courageous story of six people on a 2,500 km long trek, extending from Istanbul to Alexandria."..      The paragraph above introduces a very helpful summary of the campaign and offers many of the details of the participation of Samil Bey and Kemal Bey in its successful completion. It is found on the website of NEWSPOT and offers a summary of this important event in the history of the development of aviation in Turkey. It includes several priceless photographs of the participants with special mention of the roles of early heroes Captain Fethi Bey and First Lieutenant Nuri Bey who perished on the flight. You can access the site by clicking on the title above.

 

THE DAWN OF AVIATION IN LEBANON (1913-1914) By Wassim Chemaitelli      This page, on the Cedarjet website, presents a revue of the events that surrounded the arrival of the first airplanes to Lebanon, and the early years of aviation in the Middle East. It is very interesting in its own light, but is especially valuable in that it offers a revue of Salim Bey and Kemal Bey's flight to Cairo. You can access the page by clicking on the title above.      If time permits, you will be rewarded to read the entire article. It is replete with stories, photographs, maps, etc. and also offers a number of references and links.

 
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I don't know the dates of his birth or of his death.   If you have any more information on this pioneer aviator please contact me. E-mail to Ralph Cooper

 

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