It has been 80 years since the publication of the Living Histories (Canlı Tarihler) series, a historiography project first published by Türkiye Yayınevi and brought to life through the efforts of Tahsin Demiray. This series, which published memoirs in fascicles regarding portraits that left their mark on the cultural, artistic, intellectual, and political life of the last century, has always maintained its status as an important source for our recent history, culture, and national affairs. Conveying information and experiences that inspire and broaden the horizons of both researchers and many readers, the Living Histories series featured dozens of valuable names within its fascicles. Each of these fascicles is a memoir supported by documents. The third work from Living Histories to join the Büyüyenay library is the Memoirs of Veled Çelebi İzbudak (1869-1953). We have given the work the overarching title I Have Forsaken Worldly Desires (Geçtim Hevesât-ı Dünyevîden), the first line of the author's poem that became customary to be recited as a prayer ritual in Mevlevi ceremonies starting in 1909, and which is also inscribed on the author's gravestone.

The life of Veled Çelebi İzbudak, a linguist from the lineage of Mevlânâ and one of the late-period Mevlevi sheikhs, began in Konya and, following six years of madrasa education, continued with his roles at the Provincial Correspondence Office, as chief editor, as a teacher at the Rüşdiye School, as chief clerk at the Needs Investigation Commission, and subsequently at the Domestic Press Office in Istanbul. Meanwhile, he penned articles for newspapers such as Tercümân-ı Hakîkat and İkdam, as well as magazines like Mekteb, Hazîne-i Fünûn, and Resimli Gazete, and wrote poems under the pseudonym Bahâî. He pioneered the establishment of a society called the Turkish Association. Appointed to the office of Çelebi by Sultan Reşad, Veled Çelebi served as the commander of the Mevlevi Mujahideen regiments, formed from volunteer Mevlevi dervishes by government order during World War I, and went to Damascus for the Suez Canal Campaign, where he stayed for three years. With the changing of the era, he was dismissed from the office of Çelebi in 1919 by the will of Vahdeddin. Veled Çelebi, who served as a deputy for Kastamonu between 1923-1939 and for Yozgat between 1939-1943, continued his scholarly work at the Turkish Language Association until the end of his life. The Memoirs of Veled Çelebi, one of the witnesses of our recent history, meet our readers again after nearly 80 years, enriched with footnotes.