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