Village walls were adorned with the works of Mimar Sinan

The Mayor of Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality, Dr. Memduh Büyükkılıç, attended the first event organized by the Metropolitan Municipality under the title ‘Sinan Era in Kayseri’ where village school walls were adorned with the works of the unique genius Mimar Sinan with the participation of artists and children, together with the Governor of Kayseri, Gökmen Çiçek.

The Metropolitan Municipality of Kayseri is commemorating Mimar Sinan, who was born in Ağırnas Village and left countless traces in many provinces of the Ottoman Empire with his transcendent works, with an extraordinary event. As part of the Mimar Sinan Commemoration Events that will continue throughout the year, a painting activity was organized under the title ‘Sinan Era in Kayseri’ with the participation of leading artists of the country. The first wall painting event was held at Gürpınar Primary School in Melikgazi district, where the Mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality, Dr. Memduh Büyükkılıç, Kayseri Governor Gökmen Çiçek, AK Party Kayseri Deputy Ayşe Böhürler, Melikgazi District Governor Bülent Karacan, Melikgazi Mayor Mustafa Palancıoğlu, Provincial Director of National Education Bahameddin Karaköse, District Director of National Education Hacı Kaya, AK Party Kayseri Provincial Women’s Branch President Meral Koşar, painters, artists, teachers, and students participated. The program, which started with the marches of the Metropolitan Municipality Mehter Band, a moment of silence, and the singing of the National Anthem, was addressed by Governor Gökmen Çiçek, who stated, ‘The Sinan Era in Kayseri looks very elegant. Hopefully, we will all experience the years of Sinan together this year.’ AK Party Kayseri Deputy Ayşe Böhürler mentioned that an event was organized to remember Mimar Sinan, who was born in Ağırnas, and to reintroduce him as a genius who left his mark with his works that transcend eras, stones, soil, and Erciyes Mountain, expressing her gratitude to those who contributed. Böhürler emphasized the importance of engraving the name of Mimar Sinan in the memories of children, stating that the event will help children familiarize with Mimar Sinan. After asking a student to talk about Mimar Sinan briefly, Böhürler continued her speech by mentioning that coloring books and wall paintings containing the works of Mimar Sinan will be painted, saying, ‘We say Mimar Sinan is returning to Kayseri, to the lands where he was born. We hope to engrave this great genius who has left his mark not only in these lands but also in the Balkans and various other places, who has survived three sultans, three eras, and whose works have stood tall despite numerous earthquakes and disasters, into our memories. Hopefully, new architects and artists following in the footsteps of this genius will emerge.’ Böhürler pointed out that the project will ensure that Mimar Sinan’s name is associated with Kayseri not only this year but also in the future, saying, ‘This is the third event. Our goal was to introduce Mimar Sinan as a value of Kayseri to our children, to create awareness on this matter. The love for art starts from primary schools. We can revive art in all village schools and thus discover children with artistic talents.’ Stressing the significance of associating the unparalleled genius Mimar Sinan, who has left his mark on architectural history with his unique works, with Kayseri, the Mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality, Dr. Memduh Büyükkılıç, mentioned that Mimar Sinan managed to include nearly 400 works in his approximately 100-year lifespan. Mayor Büyükkılıç emphasized the importance of knowing and promoting Mimar Sinan, especially to the younger generation. Mayor Büyükkılıç continued his speech as follows: ‘Of course, just as our spiritual architect Seyyid Burhaneddin Hazretleri is important to us, Mimar Sinan is a name known and should be known worldwide by the public. It is important that he is known. However, being associated with Kayseri is even more important for us. In order to ensure this, we organize various events in our city to both introduce Mimar Sinan and promote him, especially to the younger generation, and to benefit from his value for our city. As it is known, he was born in Ağırnas. He managed to include nearly 400 works in his approximately 100-year lifespan. These works are spread all over the world. In this understanding, we are talking about a name who was the biggest contributor to Mimar Sinan being Mimar Sinan, Sultan Süleyman, who crowned that environment and those possibilities of that magnificent Ottoman era with his art and is still an unsolved name. We are talking about a name remembered in the region known for stone craftsmanship in the Koramaz Valley, Mimar Sinan. We are holding such events to keep him alive here, to contribute to his recognition here, and thus to keep Kayseri on the agenda. They should be done. They should be shared with our schools and young people. They should be established on social media. He is a name that makes a name for himself in the world. He should reach the place he deserves. I thank those who contributed.’ Büyükkılıç stressed that they will carry Mimar Sinan with honor to the new generation, saying, ‘We will spread it over the years, Mimar Sinan will be mentioned when Kayseri is mentioned, and Kayseri will be mentioned when Mimar Sinan is mentioned. Mimar Sinan is an unsolved name, a value who made unsolved works in Istanbul, the Balkans, and different countries worldwide. We will continue to work to keep our architects inspired by him, to keep him on the agenda, this is just a beginning.’ Within the scope of the ‘Sinan Era in Kayseri’ events initiated by the Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality, in collaboration with the Kayseri Governorate and the Kayseri Provincial Directorate of National Education, the walls of village schools were decorated with the immortal works of Sinan by the Rector Mahir Güven and the Artist Günseli Kato from Mimar Sinan University along with the students. Governor Çiçek and Mayor Büyükkılıç also participated in the event, not forgetting to paint with the painter and students.