Nothing could stand in the way of Ahmed Muhammed, a visually impaired Egyptian who participated in the online Turkish courses of Cairo Yunus Emre Institute, in his love for Turkish.

"I am determined to take my Turkish to the highest level," Ahmed Muhammed said about learning Turkish.

As in all countries in the Arab region, there is a great interest in Turkish language and culture in Egypt. Especially among young people, knowing Turkish is considered a matter of reputation. One of these young people is 23-year-old Ahmed Muhammed from Egypt.

Living in Minya, Egypt, Muhammed lost his sight when he was 10 years old due to an illness. Despite this, he did not abandon his studies and is currently studying for his master's degree at Al-Azhar University.

Muhammed has been interested in Turkish history since high school and has done research on important Turkish states in history, such as the Ghaznavids, Seljuks and Ottomans. He found Arabic sources on Turkish history, which he described as "marvelous", to be limited, and started dreaming of learning Turkish.

The Egyptian young man, who could not enroll in the face-to-face Turkish courses of Yunus Emre Institute in the capital Cairo due to the distance to the city of Minya where he lives, explained how his adventure of learning Turkish started with the following words:

"I first started learning Turkish on YouTube. One day, my sister saw Cairo Yunus Emre Institute's online course announcement on social media. When she told me, I applied right away. I have now completed the first course. I am determined to take my Turkish to the highest level."

"MY DREAM IS TO PURSUE A DOCTORATE IN ISLAMIC HISTORY AND TURKISH LITERATURE IN TURKEY"

Noting that his biggest goal is to get a doctorate degree in Turkey, Muhammed said:

"My dream is to pursue a doctorate degree in Islamic history and Turkish literature in Turkey. Turkey is a very developed country. It offers a lot of convenience to people like me. I plan to learn Braille, an alphabet method used in Turkey for the visually impaired to read and write, and read Turkish books this way."

HE TRAVELED 6 HOURS TO MEET HIS COURSE MATES

YEI Cairo Coordinator Emin Boyraz stated that Muhammed is a very special person for them, who knows no boundaries, and that the Institute continues its activities in a way to appeal to all segments of society from all over Egypt.

Stating that Muhammed, who lives in the city of Minya, came with his father to visit their center in Cairo, Boyraz said: "He met with his teacher and online classmates at our center. All his classmates helped him throughout the course. They made a voice recording and sent it to him."