World Turkic Congress

The heavens cannot be reached without going to the roots

On August 10, I started my pre-planned trip on my iron horse. After meeting with my travel and destiny friend in Çorlu and making the necessary road coordination and route determination, we crossed to Romania via Bulgaria. Later, I will share the details of the trip with you in another article. In today's article, I will tell you about the World Turkish Congress, which is mainly cultural and political.

The Hun-Turkic Congress, which was organized for the seventh time this year, was held under the auspices of the Hungarian state. The fact that such an organization was held in the heart of Europe under the bewildered gaze of European nations prejudiced against Turks was an event in itself. For this alone, I owe a debt of gratitude to the Hungarian nation and its leaders on behalf of the Turkish nation.

When we arrived at the Bugaç congress area in Hungary, we were greeted by our smiling brothers and sisters. They shared their food with us. Country and community flags were placed in the meeting area. People from almost every part of the Turkic World started to mingle with each other. There were also emotional moments in the evening conversations. The delegation from Azerbaijan sang "The Black Sea Fluttered" and we proudly accompanied them.

Hungary was granted observer status in TURKPA for the first time in 2014. Then in 2017 they became an observer member of the Organization of Turkic States. They started to openly support Turkish theses in Turkey's fight against terrorism and the Karabakh War. When I see this good attitude of Hungary, I think of those verses written by Ziya Gökalp, "To the Sons of Turks": "Don't forget that you are the son of Attila!"

The fact that the Kurultay came under state patronage over time has been a very valuable practice for the Turkic World. The Bugaç Kurultai was also held under the auspices of the Hungarian Parliament. If you go to Hungary, when you go to the Parliament building, you will see another flag flying next to the Hungarian flag. This flag is the flag of the Sekels with the moon and sun. Known to be one of the oldest peoples of the Carpathians, the Sekels are believed to be the descendants of Attila the Hun. Today, they live as a part of Sekellania of Hungarian origin. This issue, which occasionally causes a crisis between the two countries, has become a very sensitive issue for Hungary. In the parliament building, the Hungarian flag is displayed alongside the flag of the Sekellans.

Byzantine sources called Hungary Turkia and King Árpád "the great prince of Turkia". An inscription on the inner side of the Hungarian Royal Crown reads "To Geza, the faithful and loyal king of the Turks" (Geobitzas Pistos Krales Tourkias). According to Turcologist Dr. Balazs Sudar, a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, there are around 350-400 Turkish words in Hungarian. According to Sudar, Hungarians started to use these words before they made today's Hungary their homeland.

Deputy Speaker of the Hungarian parliament Lezsak made a statement that will go down in history in one of his speeches:

"The friendship between the Hun-Turkic peoples is very valuable. Much more valuable than dollars and euros!"

Turkic peoples living in a wide geography from Altai to Danube came together in this Hun-Turkic Congress. Balkans, Caucasus, Central Asia, Anatolia... Nearly 30 Turkic peoples and communities participated in this congress.

This series of congresses, the first of which was held in Kazakhstan in 2007, has been held in Hungary every two years since 2008. On the evening before the official opening, the Mayor of Bugac welcomed the guests warmly. He served the famous Goulash dish. Local people personally supported and took part in the preparation process. Unfortunately, my traveling companion and I could not make it to this event. We were a bit sad. Because the stories were very beautiful. The size and splendor of the area was exciting. There were thousands of people at that time. "The goal is Turan" slogans were being chanted. Although there was no electricity, there was a whip show of horsemen in the area which was illuminated with torches. The whip is considered a very important symbol in this event because of Attila. A giant poster of Attila the Hun was hung at the entrance to the assembly area.

The next day the official opening of the Kurultai was held. The local people and those who came from various parts of Europe to attend the assembly caused long queues to form around the area from the morning hours, and traffic was blocked.

What I found most useful about this event was the participation of thousands of people from outside the country, especially the local people, and the fact that they were a part of the congress. There was also the prominent appearance of the flags of the Organization of Turkic States in the area. Hungary, as a member of the European Union, is now an integral part of this union. The only regrettable point was that the glorious Turkish flag, the symbol of our state and the apple of my nation's eye, was not in its true size. That is why we felt the need to inform our consulate and embassy about this. We expressed our regret.

Hungarian authorities tried to spread the event throughout the country and increase the participation. Of course, it should be noted that there are news reports labeled as "Turanist" and "Racist" in the European Union. Unfortunately, the number of people in our country who have been supporting this understanding has also been considerable.

The congress area was quite large. Different programs were organized simultaneously. Speeches, concerts, traditional sports, shows and competitions on horseback, and promotional stands were opened. In the official program, the must-see event was the grand parade about the Hungarian Migration, which was attended by thousands of people. Care was taken to ensure that the clothes used in the parade, in which each Hungarian tribe took part, were exact replicas of the clothes worn in the past. They really made the audience feel that migration and its atmosphere. After the migration, an image is reached where all Hungarian tribes gather together with their flags. This is a message to ensure the Hungarian-Hungarian unity in history.

And it was very nice to see the horsemen with the flags of the countries of the Turkic World, which I have always wondered about. The fact that the flags of Turkey, TRNC, East Turkistan and Crimea were also included in this was also very proud. Our Hungarian friends had a very successful organization. I hope that this congress will continue to grow in the coming years. Hun-Turk unity will develop in every field and will serve to strengthen cooperation in the Turkic World.

At the World Turkic Congress held in Bugach near Budapest, Hungarian, Azerbaijani, Avar, Bashkir, Bulgarian, Balkar, Buryat, Chuvash, Gagauz, Kabardino, Karachay, Karakalpak, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Kumuk, Mongol, Nogay, Oghuz, Uzbek, Tatar, Tuva, Turkmen, Uyghur and Yakut tribes of Turkic descent came together and took some decisions to build a common future.

Then I think it would be appropriate to end this article with Atatürk's poem "Where is the Truth?"

"Gafilil, which three centuries, which ten centuries

The Danube has always been a Turkish land.

Known histories don't say that,

Oghuz sons in the middle of Asia,

Oghuz descendants in the Alps of Europe We who came out of the East...

Wherever, however, we know ourselves."

Stay with respectful love.