Turkish Olympics conclude with spectacular finale
The 6th International Turkish Olympics, which hosted 550 students from 110 countries who showcased their skills in Turkish, saw a gala night on Sunday. Various prominent Turkish figures, including Parliament Speaker Köksal Toptan, Education Minister Hüseyin Çelik, İstanbul Governor Muammer Güler and İstanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş, attended the event, organized by the International Turkish Education Association (TÜRKÇEDER).
The students participating in the competition came from different nations and backgrounds but gathered around a common denominator -- Turkish. Many commentators said the event brought the "United Nations" to Turkey. Kemal Gülen and Ebru Ediz were the announcers for the evening, which began with the singing of the national anthem and an opening speech delivered by Turkish Language Olympics Committee Chairman Mehmet Sağlam. The chairman said his committee hopes to ensure that the Turkish language has a special place among other world languages as the language of love and tolerance.
“Turkish teachers have established hundreds of schools all around the globe. They have set excellent examples for the whole world with their lifestyles and are respected in every country they have worked in,” he noted.
The students, brought together with their love for Turkish, gave messages of friendship, solidarity, brotherhood and affection during the event. The World Colors Choir’s musical number delighted the audience with its outstanding performance. “We are the world’s children, branches of a single tree. We are peace and affection that embrace the universe,” they said. The Olympics Folk Dance Group also entertained the audience up with its Turkish folk dance performance.
Finalist received their prizes from Parliament Speaker Toptan, Education Minister Çelik, Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Şahin, State Minister Mehmet Şimşek and Galatasaray’s veteran striker Hakan Şükür.
Şükür said he was proud to give the students participating in the competition their awards. “I have appeared before huge crowds in many places around the world but have never gotten as excited as now. I would like to bow with respect before the teachers who have been serving in various countries,” he said.
Award-winning students
Hatice Alizade from Azerbaijan ranked first in the song competition, while Abadan Halmedova from Turkmenistan came in second and Suman Kurbanova from Tajikistan won third place. The three students were given their prizes by Parliament Speaker Toptan.
Adeila Selimaj from Albania came in first in the poetry competition, and Anisa Fitria Dewi from Indonesia as second best competitor. Walaa Tarık Mohamed from Sudan won third place.
A folk dance group from Vietnam was chosen as the best with its excellent performance. It was followed by two other groups from Azerbaijan and Moldova.
A number of world-known figures were also granted special awards during the event. The Atatürk Turkish Language Award was granted to Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the Karamanoğlu Mehmet Bey Award was bestowed on Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Ali Şir Nevai Turkish Language Award was given to author, poet and philosopher Hilmi Yavuz.
‘This is real patriotism’
Prime Minister Erdoğan, who could not attend the event as he was in meetings with senior Justice and Development Party (AK Party) leaders in Ankara, praised the Turkish Olympics and their organizers during a speech he delivered earlier in the day.
“I salute with love all of our guests who have come to our country from different places around the world to participate in the Olympics. Such events not only prepare the groundwork for new friendships but also turn into bridges of language that bring together different cultures and civilizations. The Turkish Olympics are an extremely meaningful event for the alliance of civilizations,” he said.
Erdoğan stressed the fact that peace has difficult times before wars and cannot be attributed to the differences between cultures and civilizations.
“The reason is that intercultural dialogue weakens and bridges between countries collapse. Fortunately, such events are of great importance to overcoming bias,” he added.
In the meantime, Education Minister Çelik, who accepted the prize on Erdoğan’s behalf, delivered a speech during the gala event and thanked the organizers of the event.
“The real heroes of this event are our teachers who take the love in our hearts to people living in places whose names we do not even know. As the education minister, I would like to say that these teachers are people whose hands should be kissed. You cannot become a compatriot only through words and a nationalist solely through slogans. Real patriotism is to love Turkey and take the Turkish language to the whole world,” he remarked.
‘I will realize my father’s dream by opening a university in Tanzania’
The family of Erkan Çağıl, a Turkish teacher serving in Tanzania who lost his life in an accident there, was given a “fidelity award” for his service. Çağıl’s wife, Arzu, who accepted the prize in tears, continues to live in Tanzania with her two children. “My husband asked us to do so before he passed away. Living in Tanzania gives me joy in life. My husband is still there; I cannot leave him there alone,” she said. Çağıl’s son, Haluk, on the other hand, said he will exert his utmost when he grows up to realize his father’s dream of opening a university in Tanzania. “I lost my father in Tanzania. My teachers helped me cope with the loss. I will establish a university there. It was my father’s dream,” he stated.
TODAY’S ZAMAN İSTANBUL
http://www.todayszaman.com/
