Students from around the world who traveled to Turkey to attend the 10th International Turkish Language Olympiad say they very much enjoyed attending the event and touring Turkey during their visit. The Olympiad, which brings together hundreds of foreign students each year from Turkish schools established throughout the world, is organized by the International Turkish Education Association (TÜRKÇEDER). The Olympiad was held between May 30 and June 14 in various cities around Turkey, but predominantly in Ankara and ?stanbul.
A total of 1,500 students from 135 countries performed on 65 stages across the nation this year. Participants say they have thoroughly enjoyed their visit to Turkey and are happy to have attended the Turkish Olympiad this year.
Turkmenistan’s Ruslan Annamammedov (12), who won the most prestigious medal in the singing competition on June 5 at Sinan Erdem Arena, told Today’s Zaman that the Turkish people had embraced Olympiad participants with affection. Annamammedov added that two Turkish families had hosted him, along with a group of fellow students, in their homes. “They prepared splendid dining tables for us, they treated us very kindly and they showed us true hospitality. We stayed in luxurious hotels and ate the most delicious food during the Olympiad in Turkey. The food that I liked most is mercimek çorbas? (traditional lentil soup),” the talented young singer noted.
Annamammedov explained that he comes from a family of singers, and that his brother, Devran Annamammedov, was awarded first place at the 8th International Turkish Olympiad in 2010. “My father and grandfather are singers. When I won the competition they felt proud of me. They always trusted me, so by winning the competition I didn’t disappoint them,” he said.
Arsalan Naseer (16) of Pakistan, whose voice has been compared to that of Kurdish singer and composer Ahmet Kaya — who died in Paris in November 2000 — hit the headlines during the two-week Olympiad event. Naseer told Today’s Zaman that Turkish people had showed great interest in him during the Olympiad period, which made him happy.
Türken went on to say that upon visiting the earthquake-hit province of Van the participants were deeply touched by their contact with victims of the disaster, many of whom are living in prefabricated houses, elaborating, “We felt very happy to see that the quake victims had a great time with our performances [during the Van festival, which was held as part of the 10th International Turkish Olympiads four days ago].”
Tags: 10th, International, Language, Olympiad, Turkish
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