Beginning in 1896, he worked as trading official, a job that involved a good deal of travel in Europe.
Eventually, however, he did return to Constantinople, where he edited a newspaper, Voice of the People, then served as director of the Central School.
Political tumult in Constantinople ultimately drove him back to Egypt, where he edited the daily newspaper Arev until the end of his life.
Tekeyan's poems include: The Armenian Church, A Prayer on the Eve of Tomorrow, Your Memory Tonight, When the Day Finally Comes, and Your Name.
Another Armenian intellectual and poet, Vahe Vahian, was heavily influenced by Vahan Tekeyan's work, from where his pen name came from.