As part of the 9th International Turkish Olympiads, Şanlıurfa festival took place at the GAP Stadium with 30,000 attendees on Sunday. As part of 24 festivals held in different provinces of Turkey, 54 international students from 18 different countries, performed at the GAP Stadium in Şanlıurfa.
The famous Turkish singer İbrahim Tatlıses, who is undergoing treatment in hospital, gave a speech over the telephone to the crowd in the stadium. Tatlıses survived an assassination attempt in İstanbul on March 14, when an assailant fired 11 bullets at Tatlıses, four of which hit him in the head. His condition has improved steadily after a number of operations since the attack. He was later flown to Germany on a Ministry of Health plane in order to receive special treatment.
Tatlıses addressed his fellow townsman in his telephone speech and said he was very sorry for not being among people of Şanlıurfa for such amazing gathering.
“I thank you all for praying for me with your sincere prayers. I thank all the organizers of this event. I especially thank the spiritual leader of the International Turkish Olympiads and I submit my respect with all my love. Please forgive me for not being present there today. I hear your voices from here and I here your prayers too. You have made me known to the whole world and never forgot me at anytime. And I have never tainted Şanlıurfa with my actions. God has bestowed me, God has bestowed me to the Muslim world and I praise him for this. Praise be to God. I am a miracle of God. I can say that I am probably the first person who survived a Kalashnikov bullet to head. How did this happen? With your prayers. I shall see you all soon,” said the Turkish singer Tatlıses.
Tatlıses also stated that, the Şanlıurfa deputy, State Minister Faruk Çelik and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had recently visited him and Tatlıses thanked these statesmen for being by his side during these hard times.
Published on Today's Zaman, 27 June 2011, Monday
