Colorful Meeting in Ancestor Sports

The Turkish World Ancestor Sports Festival, organized for the 5th time by Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, started in Keles-Kocayayla with a ceremony attended by many culture-arts and sportsmen and hundreds of citizens. Speaking at the opening, which witnessed colorful scenes and a visual feast, Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Alinur Aktaş said, “Traditional sports inherited from our ancestors are not just a branch of sports, they contain a culture. It is the effort to keep this culture alive that brings the Turkish world together in Bursa and Kocayayla.”

full program

The 5th Turkic World Ancestral Sports Festival, which was prepared under the coordination of the Metropolitan Municipality and in cooperation with the Keles Municipality, with the contributions of Bursa Governor's Office, Bursa Culture, Tourism and Promotion Association, Turkish Traditional Sports Federation, World Ethno Sports Confederation, Türksoy and the Union of Turkish World Municipalities. started. The Turkish World Ancestor Sports Festival, which started with the cortege march on Cumhuriyet Street on Friday and continues on Saturdays and Sundays, is a complete culture-arts and sports program. Citizens from Turkey and abroad showed great interest in the program in the area where Orhan Gazi married Nilüfer Hatun and Murad-ı Hüdavendigar was preparing for the war. Within the scope of the two-day festival, equestrian javelin and root ball competitions, pacing horseback riding, equestrian archery, equestrian acrobatics, Bursalı Şüca Archery competition, aba, girdle, karakucak, baggy and oil wrestling, Alpagut martial arts shows were held. In the created Arrow Square, while the citizens were doing archery training, Turkish archery shooting techniques were also given training. In the field of traditional children's games, the children had a great time playing knuckle throwing, blindfolding, jumping rope, dodgeball, tug-of-war, sack race. The little ones who struggled against obstacles on the adventure track, which consists of high-energy tracks, had an unforgettable day. Citizens who participated in the training and competitions held in the field of mangala and mas wrestling also had fun moments. While local concerts and folk dance performances were held in the Oba area, oral presentations were made in the replica area of ​​the Orkhon Inscriptions. In Arasta Square, traditional handicrafts and practices of forgotten professions were shown. The activities, which lasted for two days and were held in a festive atmosphere, continued throughout the day with the henna procession and the lighting of the henna fire, the bride procession, local tunes by local artists, folk dance performances, concerts of Ömer Faruk Bostan, Uğur Önür, Reyhan Edis and Ece Seçkin.

The program, which started with the Mehter Team concert, Kılıç Kalkan and Alpagut Turan fight team show, was accompanied by Bursa Metropolitan Mayor Alinur Aktaş, World Ethnosport Confederation President Bilal Erdoğan, Bursa Governor Yakup Canbolat, MHP Secretary General and Bursa Deputy İsmet Büyükataman, Bursa Deputies Hakan Çavuşoğlu. , Atilla Ödünç, Osman Mesten, Zafer Işık, AK Party Provincial Chairman Davut Gürkan, MHP Provincial Chairman Kalkancı, TURKSOY Deputy Secretary General Bilal Çakıcı, Traditional Sports Federation President Hakan Kazancı, Keles Mayor Mehmet Keskin, protocol members, members of non-governmental organizations and a large number of citizens participated. After the speeches, exhibition matches were performed by the athletes of oily, salwar, karakucak and aba wrestling. President Alinur Aktaş and his entourage then toured the prepared area. President Aktaş and his entourage, who stopped by the arrow square, met with the citizens. sohbet he did. While Bilal Erdoğan was shooting a trial arrow, the members of the protocol watched the horse archery and acrobatics demonstrations. Afterwards, President Aktaş and his entourage stopped by the Oba Area, toured the tents one by one and met with the participants. sohbet and took a souvenir photo.

“We are a bridge between east and west”

Metropolitan Mayor Alinur Aktaş said that as a great Turkish nation in a wide geography, we have a glorious history of thousands of years. Reminding that we have made these blessed lands our eternal home with our arrival from Turkistan to Anatolia, President Alinur Aktaş said that they are grateful to the Seljuks and the Ottomans, especially Sultan Alparslan, who conquered Anatolia in 1071 and made these lands our eternal homeland. Expressing that they took their wings to four continents as a result of the struggles of their ancestors, President Aktaş said, “We have never forgotten where we came from, why we came and what we struggled for, and we will never forget. We are the most vital bridge between east and west. Herein lies the secret of our country's ability to shape the future. Today, we have millions of brothers in Anatolia, Turkestan, the Caucasus, Siberia, the Middle East, Iran, the Balkans, and China. Although we are in different geographies, we are people who speak the same language. Our dough was kneaded in the same geography. We carried our language, history, culture, traditions and customs wherever we went and included them among the common values ​​of the world. While we contribute to civilization with our common past, we also continue to meet around the values ​​that make us who we are. In this way, we strengthen our existence and keep our courage, pride, honor, hospitality, honesty and compassion alive.”

“It is our duty to keep this tradition alive”

Expressing that the traditional sports inherited from our ancestors are not just a branch of sports, but contain a culture, Chairman Aktaş stated that it is the effort to keep this culture alive that brings the Turkish world together in Bursa and Kocayayla. Saying that ancestral sports consist of games played by our ancestors for hundreds of years to stay fit during periods of peace and war, President Aktaş said, “Our traditional values ​​and games, dating back thousands of years, have been shaped by our beliefs, customs and traditions, and have become a part of our identity. It is our duty to keep this tradition alive and carry it to the future. Our aim is to strengthen the unity and brotherhood of the Turkish nation and to transfer the common Turkish culture to future generations. I would like to express my special thanks to our institutions and organizations that have contributed to bringing our ancestral heirloom sports and other cultural activities, which have been practiced in peace and war for 5 years, to life in this distinguished plateau.” he said.

Turkey takes the lead

Bilal Erdoğan, President of the World Ethnosports Confederation, thanked all institutions, especially Bursa Metropolitan Municipality and Keles Municipality, who contributed to the 2022th Turkish World Ancestral Sports Festival held in 5 Turkish World Culture Capital Bursa. Emphasizing the importance of combining the energies of the Turkish world in the same bowl and strengthening the relations between them, Bilal Erdoğan said that the unity in the Turkish world is of great importance for millions of our compatriots. Expressing that some sections do not want the Turkish world to get closer and join forces, Erdoğan said, “Those who do not want our unity have always been and will continue to be. Despite this, we will strengthen the ties between us. As Etnospor, we are working to keep traditional sports alive in the world. Countries in the Turkish world occupy a large place in our studies. Today, while Sakha Turks in Russia, Yakutia keep mas wrestling and other traditional sports alive, our brothers in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan play the root ball sport. Many sports such as oiled, shalwar, aba wrestling, javelin and horse archery are kept alive in Anatolia. For the first time, Turkey achieved great success in archery, our ancestral sport, together with Mete Gazoz. Today, 4 federations manage our traditional sports. We see that there is a very serious interest in our traditional sports in Turkey.”

Reminding that the 4th World Nomad Games, the world's largest traditional sports event, will be held in Bursa Iznik recently, Bilal Erdogan said that they will properly promote Bursa and Iznik with this program, which is the Olympics of traditional sports. Explaining that they will be performing traditional sports games in Ahlat Manzikert in the near future, Erdoğan said, “Our structuring in these sports will continue to develop with each passing year. We are moving from being a hobby to becoming a corporate sports structure. Turkey will continue to be a pioneer in the development of traditional sports. It is very important that our local governments also protect traditional sports. I would like to thank those who contributed to the Ata Sports Festival in Kocayayla.”

Bursa Governor Yakup Canbolat wished the 5th Turkish World Ancestral Sports Festival to be beneficial. Stating that our physical activities have been an important activity for us since our existence as a nation, Governor Canbolat stated that sports have a very important place in Turkish culture. Stating that this culture is being tried to be kept alive with the festivals held in Kocayayla, Canbolat thanked those who contributed to the program.

MHP Secretary General and Bursa Deputy İsmet Büyükataman thanked all institutions and individuals, especially Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, who organized the organization. Stating that it is extremely important to protect ancestral sports, Ataman said, “This important responsibility rests on our shoulders. We are glad that there is great interest in all branches of our ancestral sports today. I would like to thank Bilal Erdoğan, President of the World Ethnosports Confederation, for his exemplary work on the dissemination of these sports and their adoption by all segments of society. Thank you again to those who contributed to the program.”

Bursa Deputies Osman Mesten stated that Kocayayla is of great importance in terms of Ottoman and Turkish history. Stating that it was a consultation place where Turkmen feasts were held for centuries, Mesten said that it continues to be a meeting place for Turks with many programs, especially the Ata Sports Festival. Mesten thanked everyone who contributed to the organization of the festival.

Bilal Çakıcı, Deputy Secretary General of TURKSOY, stated that Bursa, which has been awarded the title of Cultural Capital of the Turkic World, hosts very good events. Çakıcı thanked Bursa Metropolitan Municipality and Keles Municipality, who contributed to the organization of the Ata Sports Festival, and stated that the citizens will spend two days in a pleasant atmosphere.
Keles Mayor Mehmet Keskin said that they were very happy to host the Turkish world in Kocayayla, where Osman Gazi and Orhan Gazi made their final preparations before the conquest of Bursa during the establishment phase of the Ottoman Empire. Pointing out that Orhan Gazi's wedding with Nilüfer Hatun was held in a festive atmosphere, Keskin thanked everyone, especially Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, who contributed to the organization.