Speak Turkish!

I saw them at Kizilcahamam, where they were staying in their camp before the big competition. The traditional national costumes they were wearing attracted nearly everyone's attention.

Four young girls — one Iraqi, one Sri Lankan, one Vietnamese and one Malaysian — were sitting next to each other and talking. What kind of shared platform is it that can bring together an Iraqi, whose country is currently under occupation, with a Sri Lankan? This year is the sixth such competition of its kind, and there are exactly 110 nations from five continents represented in this contest. The students who arrive here after succeeding in the preliminary rounds in their own countries are both competing to be first in the Turkish finals as well as promoting their own cultures at the cultural fair preceding the competition. There should be another for the successful Turkish Olympics, which manages to bring together students from so many different countries under one roof.