H.E Ambassador Mohamed Kaisamba Leads a Four man Delegation to the Van and Ahlat Victory Celebrations, 24th -25th August, 2021
H.E Ambassador Mohamed Hassan Kaisamba has Led a Four man Diplomatic Delegation from the Sierra Leone Embassy to the Van and Ahlat 950th Anniversary of the victory of Malazgirt in Turkey. This visit was conducted on the 24th and the 25th of August 2021 in the company of other members of the Diplomatic Corps who were part of this year’s celebration. This event is an annual event that is been fully funded by the government of the Republic of Turkey and its partners through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey.
Ambassador Mohamed H. Kaisamba (R) and Deputy Ambassador Paul A.S. Minah (L)
Sixty-one Ambassadors, staff, and family members from different countries were privileged to be part of the celebrations at these historic touristic sites. This all-important annual event and celebration was infused with different performances displaying the cultures and tradition of the Turkish lifestyle and history, centered the Van city.
On the 24th of August 2021, the crop of diplomats was taken on a sightseeing tour by Hazar Faurk Geven who is a tour guide and an academician, who gave all the historic relevance of the Akdamar Church which was built in 915.AD by the Armenian kingdom and Vaspuralean king Giagile.This temple is accepted as the masterpiece of Mediterranean Armenian architecture and it is located at the Akdamar Island in Van lake.
On the same 24th, the diplomatic delegation was also taken to the biggest Islamic cemetery in the world. The historic heritage of this cemetery is such that it is on UNESCO’s tentative world heritage list. The unique feature of the cemetery is the shapes of the gravestones dating back to the 11thand the 15th centuries. The tomb of Emiri Bayaindr who was the leader of Akkoyunlu constructed by his wife in his honor is in this cemetery. This cemetery is located in Ahlat which is a land district of Bitlis province in Turkey.
Ambassador Mohamed H. Kaisamba (R) and Deputy Ambassador Paul A.S. Minah (L)
The diplomatic visit to the historic sites continued with another professional tourist guide Tusuf Bor who took the diplomats to the biggest museum in the world located in Van. This museum was erected by the Urartians from 800 BC and who choose Van as a capital. It has twenty-three rooms and houses the core symbols of the civilization of the Urartian’s who settled there. The place was also occupied for about three hundred years by the Armenians before transforming into the Turkish Republic today.
The one thousand eight hundred meters long (1,800) Van cattle were also viewed. This castle was built by Urartians for security reasons as their main philosophy is their castles should be built on a hill surrounded by water and a stretch of Agricultural land. These three things are of major significance to the Urartians. In this castle, they have graveyards even though they don’t consider their leaders as mortals but as gods and goddesses.
They had sixty-nine (69) gods and goddesses believing that they will still have divine connections with the dead and that is why the kings are buried with their swords and the goddesses buried with their jewelry. This will be followed by cremation of the bodies and the ashes put in a jar and placed under the soil believing they will come back to life.
A dinner climaxed the 2021 Van and Ahlat 950th Anniversary of the victory celebration of Malazgirt in Turkey. Hosting the dinner in honor of chiefs of foreign missions on the occasion of the 950th anniversary of the Victory of Malazgirt, President Erdoğan said: “Malazgirt is the starting point of our nation’s nearly 1000-year-long presence on these lands.
The Great Seljuk Sultan Alparslan, with the decisive victory he won against the Byzantine army, which was four times larger than his, opened the gates of Anatolia to our nation in 1071 so as not to be closed ever again. The Turkish presence in Anatolia was acknowledged with the Victory of Malazgirt and Anatolia became a Turkish homeland thereafter.”
(Ambassador Mohamed H. Kaisamba)
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with chiefs of foreign missions in Turkey during dinner held on the occasion of the 950th anniversary of the Victory of Malazgirt. “MALAZGIRT IS THE STARTING POINT OF OUR NATION’S NEARLY 1000-YEAR-LONG PRESENCE ON THESE LANDS”.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted a dinner in honor of chiefs of Foreign Missions on the occasion of the 950th Anniversary of the Victory of Malazgirt in Van City East of Turkey, during which President Erdoğan said: “Malazgirt is the starting point of our nation’s nearly 1000-year-long presence on these lands.
Stating that the Great Seljuk Sultan Alparslan, with the decisive victory he won against the Byzantine army, which was four times larger than his, opened the gates of Anatolia to our nation in 1071 so as not to be closed ever again. The Turkish presence in Anatolia was acknowledged with the Victory of Malazgirt and Anatolia became a Turkish homeland thereafter.”
Underscoring that Turkey always displayed a conscientious and just stance in the face of such crises as the refugee issue that deeply affected the region, President Erdoğan stated: that Turkey has acted with this approach, too, during the cross-border operations we have carried out against terrorist organizations in order to ensure our citizens’ safety.
He said Turkey laid bare through both our words and actions that we do not have an eye on anyone’s land, sovereignty, or underground or aboveground resources. We have taken numerous bilateral and multilateral steps for the peaceful resolution of the ongoing tensions in our region. We said a new window of opportunity was opened for lasting peace in our region after the occupation in Nagorno-Karabakh ended, and that we would do whatever was necessary if Armenia seized that opportunity.”
“Turkey is displaying a humanitarian stance in Afghanistan”, Touching upon the developments in Afghanistan, President Erdoğan pointed out that Turkey was displaying a humanitarian stance in Afghanistan which was at a critical juncture, and noted: “Our soldiers and diplomats that make extraordinary efforts for the restoration of the necessary order at the airport and the continuation of the evacuation operations. We successfully maintain under harsh conditions the evacuation of our citizens stranded in Afghanistan. Also, we provide support to international organizations and the diplomatic missions of other countries’ works to evacuate their citizens.”
“The first priority President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Afghanistan must be the normalization of life “Drawing attention to the importance of the steps to be taken by the international community regarding Afghanistan, President Erdoğan said. “The first priority in Afghanistan must be the normalization of life and the filling of the vacuum of authority to ensure the peoples’ safety.
An inclusive and embracive administration that reflects all segments of society should be formed in Afghanistan. For the moment, we look cautiously optimistic to the messages given by the Taliban leaders. Obviously, the upcoming period will be shaped by the practices, actions, and steps of the Taliban rather than their words. “The International Community must display solidarity with Afghanistan”
The coronavirus pandemic, drought, and economic problems as well as the ambiguity further increase the burden of the war-torn brotherly Afghan people.
Today, millions of Afghans are in need of even staple food. No matter who is in charge of the administration, it is a must for the International Community to help Afghanistan and display solidarity with the country during its difficult times. As Turkey, we will continue to do what our brotherhood requires. Obviously, one other important aspect is the increasing pressure of irregular migration.
President Erdoğan is currently hosting over five million refugees who have different types of status, cannot shoulder an additional burden of migration from Syria or Afghanistan. He concluded.
For more Enquiries:
Hawa Georgette Tucker
Information Attaché
Sierra Leone Embassy
Ankara Turkey
+90-537-355-48-99
Email-htucker@sierraleoneembassy.org.tr