Children flock to Turkey for Turkish Olympics

Hurriyet Daily News

Nearly 1,000 children from around the world gathered in Turkey for the opening of the ninth International Turkish Olympics on Wednesday in preparation for competitions in which they will display their proficiency in the language.

This year, the annual competition is hosting children from 130 countries who will showcase their talents in Turkish music, dance and poetry while also promoting peace, according to Turkey’s speaker of Parliament.

“The Turkish Olympics is not only an organization that gathers 1,000 children from [around the world] but an event to lighten and direct the bright future of humanity,” Turkish Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Şahin said at the event’s opening ceremony.

Turkish politicians, celebrities, as well as local and foreign artists, attended the opening ceremony of the Olympics, which was organized by the International Turkish Education Association, or TÜRKÇEDER, at Istanbul’s Dolmabahçe Palace on Wednesday.

Shortly before the opening ceremony, some of the young participants waited backstage to sing Turkish songs, recite poems in Turkish or dance accompanied by Turkish folk music.

Annette Skogheim Hoel, a 15-year-old participant from Norway, told the Hürriyet Daily News backstage that she discovered Turkish music through a course she took at an education center.

Waiting to perform a difficult Turkish traditional song, “Çile Bülbülüm Çile” (Suffer my nightingale, suffer), Hoel said she was excited to perform. “Although the lyrics of the song are very depressing, I found the music very cheerful.”

Another contestant, 14-year-old Nigerian Noubisi Akpuru, told the Daily News that he would like to attend university in Turkey and was a big fan of Turkish singer Müslüm Gürses, who is known for his depressing songs.

“I have been working on the song ‘Şu Dağlarda Kar Olsaydım’ (If I’d been snow on top of those mountains) for two months, I am sure I will be number one,” Akpuru said.

Nalan Kızıltan, a teacher supporting one participant from Italy, said the Olympics should also include Turkish young people, as many young Turks were losing their ability in the Turkish language after having integrated so many English words and colloquialisms into their everyday speech.

TÜRKÇEDER head Mehmet Sağlam said during the opening ceremony that the crowd should embrace the children, their families and the teachers, as the youth would represent Turkey in their countries.

“The organization, which is expanding every year, gives us hope for peace in Turkey and the world,” said Education Minister Nimet Çubukçu, emphasizing that the number of children using the language of “peace” was increasing.

Aiming to create intercultural dialogue based on the common ground of “humanity,” the Olympics will be held in 24 different cities around Turkey from June 15 to 30, with the participation of 1,000 contestants and 300 teachers from 130 countries.

The Olympic final will be held June 30 at the Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul’s Ataköy neighborhood.

Published on Hurriyet Daily News, 16 June 2011, Thursday