The 6th International Turkish Olympics
Jun 1st, 2008 by Ted Liptak
The 6th International Turkish Olympics continue apace, with the finalists chosen in Ankara set to receive prizes in a large ceremony to be held tonight at the Istanbul Gosteri ve Kongre Merkezi (performance and congress center).
The students participating in the competition are diverse, from different nations and walks of life. But the common link between them is Turkish — and not just the language, but elements of the culture as well.
Some of these students know how to make cig kofte (a traditional food from southeastern Turkey), others are interested in the traditional Turkish art of ebru (marbling), and a few can sing and dance a Turkish folk dance (atabarı) just as well as, if not better than, their Turkish counterparts.
One group even enjoys singing the anthem for Turkish soccer team Fenerbahce!
If it weren’t for the national costumes worn by participants and the names on their lapels, you might just think this group had come straight to Ankara from villages and cities across Anatolia.
Representing Brazil at the Turkish Language Olympics are Daniel Cotta, Carman Bravo, Amarilis Camin and Bruno Costa.
These four students, each of whom can read poetry in excellent Turkish, are also all diehard Fenerbahce fans.
The students gathered outside their various nations’ stands invite visitors inside to learn more about their culture and sing old Turkish songs — they are all objects of great interest to those touring the area.
These students affirm that they have lots of Turkish friends with whom they mostly communicate through the Internet, and that they find Turkish people warm and hospitable.
Cotta, who says he learned about Turkey through his love of Fenerbahce, says he is thrilled that Roberto Carlos plays soccer in Turkey and that he would love to meet him if possible.
The Brazilian students, who say that before they learned Turkish and got to know Fenerbahce that they could not even locate Turkey on a map, say that they know as much about this country and culture as Turks themselves.
Costa, who says he loves Turkish foods like baklava, menemen, manti, doner kebab and biber dolması.
Costa explains that soccer-mania has Brazil in its grip, noting: “In Brazil, even the girls play soccer really well. Lots of great matches take place.”
With his cowboy hat atop his traditional national costume, Madagascan student Francice Paskalin Razananomenjanahary attracts a lot of attention.
This young man takes every free moment he can grab to work on the song and dance he plans to present, in hopes of becoming a finalist.
When we ask him if he will show us a bit of what he is working on, our ears are treated to the strains of an old song and Francice explains in perfect Turkish: “I have been learning this language for one year. We have toured around Istanbul, to Sultanahmet, the Topkapi Palace and the Bosporus. I really love Istanbul. Even though I sometimes miss my family here, I feel at home here too. Thanks to my Turkish, I haven’t had any troubles communicating. I want to study in İstanbul and become a doctor later. We are able to watch Turkish films in Madagascar.”
International Turkish Language Olympics to conclude Sunday night
The 6th International Turkish Language Olympics will come to an end tomorrow night at the İstanbul Show and Congress Center with an announcement of results in the song competition.
The 10 finalists in the song competition performed on Monday, and the Turkish public has been voting via cell phone for their favorites.
The winner will be announced tomorrow night and awards will be presented.
Gifts will be presented to all the participants at the ceremony, which Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to attend.
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