Organized by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality to commemorate the 99th anniversary of the population exchange, the “International Two Collar Art Days” ended with the Anafondan and Oceanos Orchestra concert accompanied by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Exchange Chorus. At the opening of the concert, President Soyer stated that they declared 2022 the “year of peace” for İzmir and said, “This meeting is the mark of the goodness race of İzmir. We will always see the peace and power of living in peace in İzmir.”
The 99th anniversary of the exchange agreement between Turkey and Greece was commemorated with the “İzmir International Two Sides Art Days” organized by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality on January 29-30. The program, which keeps the values, common culture and history of both sides of the Aegean Sea alive with conversations, concerts and art events, ended with the Anafondan and Oceanos Orchestra concert accompanied by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Exchange Chorus at the Ahmed Adnan Saygun Art Center. Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor for the night Tunç SoyerIn addition to , Zafer Yusuf Güzelkasap, President of the International Cretans and Emigrants Federation, who contributed to the organization, Balkan immigrants association and federation representatives and art lovers from İzmir attended.
“My greatest wish is that peace prevails, not suffering”
Speaking at the opening of the program, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç SoyerExpressing that, as the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, he is honored to host events that bring the two sides together with art, he said, “There are lives shattered by wars within the concepts of immigration and population exchange. There are real life stories of longing and separation, pain and tears written between the Balkans and Anatolia. That's why people's folk songs tell about migration and exchange, not dictionaries. Poems tell novels. My roots too are in the Balkans and I am honored to be the grandson of Mustafa Sabri from Pristina. The brotherly peoples with whom we share this common geography have always opened their hearts to each other and continued to protect their love, no matter what happened in history. My greatest wish is that in this common geography we live on, only peace will prevail, not the sufferings and wars of the past.”
“We will compete in goodness”
In his speech, Soyer underlined the words of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who was born in Thessaloniki, “Peace at home, peace in the world” and said, “It is not enough to hug each other for peace. Just as we need bread and water for the survival of our bodies, we need peace and brotherhood for the survival of our society. For this, we will compete in kindness. Against all injustices and poverty, we will only compete in goodness in order to restore justice and prosperity in this land. As the mayor of this city, I say that we will love the people of this country, its land and every living thing that lives on it. But we will not leave the patriotism to anyone's monopoly. This meeting, which we held on the occasion of the 99th anniversary of the exchange, is the symbol of Izmir's race for kindness. For this reason, we decided to declare 2022 the 'year of peace' for İzmir. You will see, we will always experience the peace and power of living in peace in İzmir”.
Art has no language
Art lovers showed great interest in the concert, which started with the performance of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Exchange Chorus and Oceanos Orchestra. The concert turned into a feast with the performance of Grup Anafondan. The group sang the works of both sides, blending pain and joy, in Turkish and Greek. The bouzouki performances of guest artists Afroditi Bompora, Fani Kavoura, Fonteini Christina Rentzi and Andreas Sarantidis met with the unique interpretation of the exchange choir. In addition to the songs, the stage was also colored by the folk dances of both sides.
Example of “Naim Süleymanoğlu”
At the end of the night, President Soyer presented flowers to the guest artists and Conductor Evrim Ateşler on behalf of the orchestra. Evrim Ateşler told the story of the Greek weightlifter Valerios Leonidis, who stood guard by the coffin of the national weightlifting champion Naim Süleymanoğlu and was Süleymanoğlu's biggest rival in his active sports life, and said, "Love, peace and friendship will surely win."
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