Culture and Art Festival from Xanthi Turkish Union
The Culture and Art Festival took place on Saturday 1 June in Gencerli village of Topiros Municipality of Xanthi.
The festival organised by ITB was supported by Gencerli Board of Trustees, Gencerli Football Team and Gencerli Women's Group.
During the Culture and Art Festival, which was organised with the participation of hundreds of compatriots from the plain region and Xanthi, the end of year exhibitions of the Cut - Sewing - Embroidery and Handicrafts Courses of the Xanthi Turkish Union were opened.
ITB's courses and work groups presented various performances.
The traditional wedding re-enactment of Xanthi Plain Region performed by ITB Youth Branch and Folk Dances members left its mark on the event.
The young people who re-enacted the old village wedding in a theatrical way received great applause from the participants.
TURKISH ART MUSIC CHOIR
The concert of Xanthi Turkish Union Turkish Art Music Choir was watched with great appreciation. The audience accompanied the songs sung by the choir from time to time.
The performances of the Folk Dance Teams of Xanthi Turkish Union, coached by Tülin Hacıhalil, were also highly appreciated.
The performance of ITB Music Course students under the direction of Süleyman Kara and Merve Kara and the Children's Choir received full marks from the audience.
EXHIBITION OPENING
Xanthi Culture - Art Festival, the opening of the "Handicraft Exhibition", where the artefacts and products produced in the ITB courses were exhibited, was held.
The exhibition was opened by ITB President Ozan Ahmetoğlu, Consul General of Turkey in Komotini Aykut Ünal, Mufti of Xanthi Mustafa Trampa and WTMUGA President Hüseyin Baltacı.
This year, the traditional grep and writing section of Xanthi region also took place in the exhibition.
Then the cultural programme of the event started. In his opening speech, President of Xanthi Turkish Union Ozan Ahmetoğlu thanked all the working groups involved in the organisation of the Culture - Art Festival and the people of Gencerli for their hospitality. In his speech, ITB President Ahmetoğlu touched upon the EP elections to be held on 9 June, the registration of the first grade of secondary school between 10 - 20 June and the closure decision on the Western Thrace Fenerbahce Association. Stating that the Muslim Turkish Minority of Western Thrace has always been in favour of friendship and peace, he said: "Although Xanthi Turkish Union is an association trying to keep culture, art and sports alive, it has been subjected to injustice and discrimination for 41 years. As if it was not enough that the term 'Turkish' was banned, now the term 'Western Thrace' has become a problem. We really cannot comprehend these things. We can only laugh or cry. We hope that all these wrongs and injustices will come to an end."
ITB President Ahmetoğlu thanked the Consul General of Turkey in Komotini Aykut Ünal and his wife İlayda Ünal and other guests for their participation in the event.
Afterwards, Bahri Belço, Deputy Chairman of FEP Party, Burhan Baran, Independent Deputy of Xanthi, Mustafa Trampa, Mufti of Xanthi and Aykut Ünal, Consul General of Turkey in Komotini made welcoming speeches respectively.
AWARD CEREMONY
After the speeches, the culture and art programme started. At the Culture - Art Festival; Gencerli Board of Trustees was given a plaque of appreciation for their contribution to the event. The Board of Trustees received the plaque from Aykut Ünal, Consul General of Turkey in Komotini. One of those given a plaque by the ITB was the Gencerli Football Team, which became the champion of the amateur cluster in which it competed this year. Mustafa Trampa, Mufti of Xanthi, presented the plaque to the football team. Gencerli Women's Group was also given a plaque for their contribution to the event. The plaque of the Women's Group was given by Bahri Belço, Vice President of the FEP Party.
Deputy Mayor of Inhanli (Topiros) Municipality Cem Salihoğlu was presented with a plaque of appreciation by ITB President Ozan Ahmetoğlu.
Finally, a plaque of appreciation was presented to Ayhan Mehmet, Anadolu Agency's Western Thrace correspondent. In his speech while presenting the plaque, Ahmetoğlu, President of Xanthi Turkish Union said "AA correspondent Ayhan Mehmet, who took photos of girls wearing traditional clothes in Mustafçova region of Xanthi and women preparing for iftar in Zeynelli village, was selected as 'Photo of the Day' by the British Guardian newspaper. Therefore, Ayhan Mehmet made an important contribution to the promotion of Western Thrace and Xanthi. We thank him." He used the expressions.
The event was organised by Hüsniye Arabacıoğlu and İpek Salihoğlu, ITB executives.
During the event, Gencerli Women's Group and Xanthi Turkish Union Women's Group offered food and drinks.
Among the participants of the event in Gencerli village were Consul General of Turkey in Komotini Aykut Ünal, Mufti of Xanthi Mustafa Trampa, Xanthi MP Burhan Baran, President of the Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association Hüseyin Baltacı, FEP Party Vice President Bahri Belço and MEP candidates, Deputy Mayor of Inhanlı Municipality Cem Salihoğlu, President of the Cultural Association of Turkish Women in Xanthi Aysel Sağır, Former Mayor of Mustafçova Cemil Kabza, local administrators and other guests.
