Turkey – The Grey Wolf

The legend focuses on the character of the greatest Turkish emperor who had two beautiful daughters. Because of their beautiful appearance it was believed that only humans with supernatural powers could take the emperor’s daughters in wedlock. They started to assume that these women were not created for the purpose of getting married to human beings. As their father, the emperor was very concerned with their safety and made all possible preparations to ensure his daughters were kept away from the masses. He ordered the construction of a massive tower in a faraway place that had not been inhabited by any human beings till then and ordered his two daughters to be locked up in this tower until the appropriate time.

Following this, the emperor occupied himself with intense prayers to God for providing the solution to this problem. According to the legend the deity whom the emperor prayed to, descended down to earth and took the form of a grey wolf. He then took one of the daughters of the emperor in marriage and nine children were born out of this wedlock. The nine children were given the title of “Oguz” which meant a goodhearted descent. Their voices were like that of a wolf.

The legend continues to narrate that all of the nine children carried with them the spirit of the grey wolf. With the passage of time their population grew because of which the Turkish people acquired some characteristics of the grey wolf. This includes virtues like courage, strength and agility.