Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, on Saturday, that his country is surmounting its sagas that were dominated by archers in the past, with its drones and its local software in the present.
This came in a video message sent by Erdogan to the award ceremonies of the 9th International Open Archery Cup, organized by the Archers’ Endowment in Istanbul.
He pointed out that Turkey preserves the heritage of its ancestors by reopening the Hagia Sophia mosque for worship, and the opening of the “Buyuk Çamlica” mosques last year, and “Taksim” on Friday.
President Erdogan expressed his pride in the successful activities of young shooters stopping both inside and outside the country. He also reminded the tradition of Archery in Islam as a sport.
He added, “We are building a great and strong Turkey with our youth step by step, by reviving the courage of (the Seljuk leader) Alp Arslan in the Battle of Malakkid (1071 AD), the dream of (founder of the Ottoman Empire) Osman Ghazi in the Sogut region, and the revolt of Mehmed the Conqueror in Istanbul (1453 AD) And the acumen of the invader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in Ankara, and the will to preserve our independence on July 15 (the failed coup attempt in the summer of 2016).
He pointed out that these young people are the ones who will raise our civilization on this earth to the top after we made it our home and watered it with our blood and sweat.
He continued, “Today, we are repeating the saga that we have written with archers, with our drones, our software, our production, and our exports.”
He congratulated the Turkish President on this occasion on the 568th anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul at the hands of the Ottoman Commander Mehmed the Conqueror.
He thanked the participating athletes from Turkey and other countries in the Al-Fateh Archery Cup competitions.
He explained that this competition is not a sports match, but rather a cultural festival that has been passed down to generations since the conquest of Istanbul.
He stressed that Turkey preserves the integrity of the country’s leadership through the development and beautification of Istanbul through the completion of many services in the ancient city, such as paving roads, building tunnels, and opening more metro trains, parks, and other things that directly affect people.
He expressed his appreciation for the activities carried out by the Archery Endowment, which is the first endowment established by Mehmed Al Fateh in Istanbul, by preserving the ancient ancestral traditions and by mixing young people with sports.
He pointed out that among the traditions of archers in the past was not to enter the competition arena without ablution and to start matches after bismillah, in addition to paying utmost attention to morals as well as archery skills.
He emphasized that a society could not last for a long time if it was separated from its roots in belief and culture, just as a tree that could not stand after its roots were cut off from it.
By following this concept, Erdogan urged young people to practice sports and traditional arts such as archery, horse riding, sword, calligraphy, and all kinds of social and cultural activities.
