Turkish Language Olympics Semifinals Attract Wide Attention

The 5th International Turkish Language Olympics' song and poetry semifinals were held over the weekend at the Anadolu Gösteri ve Kongre Merkezi (performance and congress center) -- formerly known as Anatolia Showland, but renamed for the Turkish Olympics.

Students that passed the first elimination round held at the Kizilcahamam Asya Thermal Hotel were enthusiastic and hard at work preparing for the semifinals. Of 550 students from 100 countries, 16 students advanced to each of the two semifinals sessions to compete for the best poem and song recitation. A panel of academics, poets, authors and singers selected a short list of 10 for the final session, to be held in Istanbul. Five students will participate with their poems while another five will compete with their songs -- these finalists will be chosen by the public.

A student from Kyrgyzstan won a first place commendation for poetry recitation and a student from Turkmenistan won first place for song recitation in the semifinals. At the end of the competition Turkish language teachers were invited on stage. As the teachers held hands while standing on stage, the audience applauded, shouting, "Turkey is proud of you." The teachers received an honorary medal from Türk Ocaklari, a Turkish nongovernmental organization supporting Turkic issues and events such as the Olympics.

Thousands of people watched the competition including parliamentarians, bureaucrats and nongovernmental organization leaders. Professor Mehmet Sağlam, the chief coordinator of the Olympiads, delivered the opening speech. He praised all the participants and said their aim was to introduce Turkish as the language of love and dialogue.

The semifinals took four hours. The first competition was in poem recitation and the first contestant was 13-year-old Lina Bücher from Germany. Bücher recited an emotional poem called "Sokak Çocugu" (street kid). Before leaving the stage to Ravnak Azin Khan from Bangladesh, Lina recommended that everyone should learn how to speak Turkish. Ravnak Azin Khan recited the poem "Sana, Bana, Vatanima" (for you, for me, for my nation) and called for world peace, unity and cooperation.

Esma Shavic from Bosnia, Salman Drili from Morocco and Çavan Muhammed Kadir from Iraq recited Fethullah Gülen's "Darül Sila" poem. Zain Almuttakim from Indonesia recited the poem "Bulmak" (to find).

Aida Risbekkizid from Kyrgyzstan recited Bahattin Karakoç's poem "Kepez," which refers to the rocky coastlines. "Let Turkey always stand like the rocks standing against the fierce sea," Aida said.

Inranek Kalau from Mozambique took her place on stage in Mozambican traditional clothing and recited the poem "Sanli Gelecek" (glorious future). Kalau briefly spoke about the success of Turkish schools in the world and in Mozambique and said she recited the poem for the sincere Anatolian people. "I am a human, even if I am black," Kalau said in her poem.

Song recitations followed after the poem session. Students from Kyrgyzstan recited a traditional Anatolian song titled, "We came from Anatolia." Hishigt Enhbold from Mongolia recited the song "Gülle Aski" (love with the rose). Vicki Jack from Papua New Guinea received wide applause for the song "Hayat Bayram olsa" (if life was a holiday).

Sevda Şireci from Anatolia Showland received an honorary award from the Turkish Language Society (Türk Dil Kurumu). "I wish I could fly like a bird and hug those teachers teaching Turkish in different parts of the world," Sireci said. TDK President Sükrü Haluk Akalin said it was difficult deciding on the winner because each student had done a spectacular job. He also thanked all the teachers and contributors to the event for their efforts.

Türk Ocaklari board of trustees member Hüseyin Erdem praised the Turkish language teachers serving in different parts of the world and described the teachers as self-sacrificing and faithful. Erdem said they would always support efforts for the sake of improving the Turkish identity.

Businessmen from Ankara presented each of the 800 teachers and students with a watch.

Top 10 students -- poetry

Kyrgyzstan, Aida Risbekkizid; Turkmenistan, Dövran Annaseyidov; Mozambique, Inranek Kalau; Indonesia, Zainal Muttakim; Lithuania, Zuaimantes Kasocius; Sudan, Fatih Kamar El Din; Germany, Lina Bücher; Vietnam, Hanhnguyen Hua Dieu; Turkmenistan, Ajayip Allasova; Mongolia, Ardak Erbov.

Top 10 students -- songs

Turkmenistan, Dövlet Amanguliyev; Papua New Guinea, Vicki Jack; Kyrgyzstan, Çolpon Kamçibekkizi; Mongolia, Hishigt Enhbold; Vietnam, Loannguyen Vu Hong; Texas, Katherin Eschalagal; Pakistan, Shees Syed; Macedonia, Havsa Mula; Cameroon, Arielle Victoria; Ghana, Edna Yeboah Darko.

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