Turkish Songs from Belgian musicians …

Maltepe Municipality hosted Belgians this week at the International  Beşçeşmeler Summer  Festival organized by the municipality.  Going on stage the  Belgian  Ledebirds Group enraptured the audience with Turkish songs. The public that accompanied some of the well known tunes and  performed  local Turkish dances at  various  points turned  Maltepe into a carnival arena.

This week Maltepe Municipality  hosted the Belgians at the International  Beşçeşmeler Summer  Festival which has attracted a lot  of interest. The night was attended Maltepe Mayor Ali Kılıç  and the  Deputy Mayors and Brussels’ Federal Member  of Parliament and Socialist Party Member  and  Mayor of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Emir Kır, One  of the largest cities of its region, Genk Deputy Mayor from Belgium’s Limburg region Ali Çağlar and hundreds of Maltepe residents.

BELGIANS PERFORM  “FESUPANNALLAH”

During the event where Belgian Ledebirds Group gave concert  consisting of Flemish, French and Turkish songs, the group sang the song which has become synonymous with the  borough,  titled “The sound of Love is Reverberating in Maltepe”. Also some  of the well known songs such as  “Crazy Lover”, “The Ashes of a  Fire”, “Wind in the Streets”, “Chaos” and “Fesupanallah” , while the public accompanied the  singers with Turkish folk dances.

“CULTURE AND FAITHS MUST INTERMINGLE”

Making the  opening speech of the night Maltepe Mayor Ali KılıçSince  I have started serving at Maltepe I have repeated the phrase intermingling f faiths and cultures, maybe you can remember.  As the grandsons of Mevlana, Hünkar Hacı Bektaşı Veli and Yunus and also recognizing that  Anatolia is the cradle of cultures  and religions as well as the of various different cuisines, we  have extended  our hand to other faiths and cultures by organizing this night at  Beşçeşmeler.  As I won’t be able to take 500,000 fellow borough residents abroad then we feel its our duty to bring those cultures and the ambassadors of those cultures here. So this is how we will manage this and break down those  prejudices in meetings of this type. I we don’t carry this out then we will not have fulfilled  our duty as  human beings. God  has given us a life, some of us are French, some are Turkish, some Iranian, some Syrian but  in the end we are living  under this sky as living beings and human beings. What separates  us from other living beings  is that we  have a language, thus we are able talk to each other and communicate. When we touch each other through communication, I think none  of these prejudices will remain and we will have better served humanity ” .

GOOD NEWS FROM MAYOR KILÇ FOR 29th OF OCTOBER 

Continuing his speech by giving good news to Maltepe residents Kılıç said: “I want to give some good news to Maltepe residents for the  month of October. As Maltepe Municipality, we are declaring the whole month of  October the month of the Republic. Against certain groups that are trying to make us forget the declaration of the Republic, we will shout  out the benefits of the Republic from Maltepe . In the order to own up to both Mustafa Kemal and his revolution for one whole month, we will put  our signature to an event everyday at  Maltepe Beşçeşmeler and other districts. Thus 29th of October will stop being a day  where it’s just wreath laying ceremony and become a meaningful day that becomes  a part  of our community.”

'LETS WALK TOGETHER '

Speaking after Kılıç, Brussels Federal Member  of Parliament, Socialist  Party Member and Mayor of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Emir Kır said “I greet you from the bottom of  my heart. I am one  of the nineteen of Brussels Mayors and I have been in office for five years. I am  a  Federal Member  of Parliament. There is a magnificent portrait here. I am looking at the  business  premises and the people they are full of  colour, there is all types  of beauty present. In this context the international summer festival we have  organized is very meaningful. When people do not know each other, they live with prejudices and concerns and sometimes this can lead to racism. Today I am very proud to be hosted by a  mayor who has lived this immigration. We have to continue this dialogue. These days the dialogue between Turkey and Europe is not going well. Thus there is a lot responsibility that befalls mayors and artists. There are  more things that bring together than those that separate them. In this context  let us  not lose hope but go forward together”.

“WE INTRODUCED TURKISH CULTURE TO EUROPE ”
Genk Deputy Mayor Ali Çağlar was quoted as  : “I want to embrace you all with love. Today to be with here , is really something to be proud of.  We are the children of families that immigrated to Europe years ago but we are your children as well. We were born and raised there and developed ourselves. We are trying to assume responsibility  in all areas. Because of the great examples we carry with us from Turkish Culture, we are trying to people that contribute to the environment they live  in and are liked by society. We hope that we carry out our duties  with due care and diligence and ensure  everyone over there  benefits.
What’s captured my attention is that these festivals organized by the  municipalities here  are open to the  public. Of course we may be Turkish but we live in Belgium and are a little bit Belgian. In this context being able to provide the best examples  of Belgian music is also a source  of pride for us. As our Mayor said there  is a melting pot  of cultures here. Today we are living together with many cultures. We hope that the fact we have this experience of the  multi cultured lifestyle of Anatolia and through establishment of many civilizations there and the bringing together of this all this experience will provide the  possibility of us all living together in this common are for a better world. We hope that the municipality will continue these worthwhile efforts and that we ensure the continuance of Turkish Culture with all its  beauty in Belgium.” 
 

Kaynak: Maltepe Belediyesi