The celebrations for the 953rd anniversary of the Malazgirt Victory have begun.

The celebrations for the 953rd anniversary of the Malazgirt Victory began at the Malazgirt Field Battle National Park.

At the Malazgirt Field Battle National Park, visitors from all over the country participated in events prepared for them, enjoying their time. The program, which started with a concert by the Konya Metropolitan Municipality Mehteran Team, continued with speeches. In the celebration program for the 953rd anniversary of the Malazgirt Victory, Muş Governor Avni Çakır stated that on August 26, 1071, Sultan Alp Arslan and his commanders demonstrated exceptional courage and heroism, saying, “We are living the pride and excitement of celebrating the 953rd anniversary of the Malazgirt Victory, which opened the doors to a new era in the glorious history of our nation, changing the future of the Turkish nation and determining a new direction in the flow of world history, and which is one of the most glorious victories in history. Sultan Alp Arslan, who revived and built his state with justice and compassion, ignited the torch of brotherhood that still resonates in the four continents today. The spirit of Malazgirt, which is based on justice, tolerance, peace, and brotherhood, has been a source of inspiration for our nation throughout history. Living this spirit and passing it on to younger generations will be the guarantee of our future. We must share this enthusiasm in honor of the Malazgirt Victory, the Battle of Gallipoli, the War of Independence, and many other epic struggles that deserve the loyalty they should receive, ensuring that the historical consciousness is kept alive by enabling the youth, who are the architects of our bright future, to learn history well. With these feelings and thoughts, I commemorate all our martyrs, especially Sultan Alp Arslan and his glorious army, who made Anatolia our eternal homeland, with mercy, and I express our endless gratitude to our veterans. I invite all our esteemed citizens, especially our fellow citizens from Muş, to the celebrations of the 953rd anniversary of the Malazgirt Victory, wishing for many more millennia of unity and solidarity in these sacred lands where our red flag waves freely in the skies,” he said.

Haydar Ali Yıldız, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Archers Foundation, stated that Malazgirt is where the arrow leaves the bow, saying, “Turks, Kurds, Circassians, Arabs, Laz, Bosniaks, Alevis, Sunnis, we are brothers, and they made this Anatolia and these lands our homeland with the blood of martyrs. May mercy and peace be upon all the martyrs. We are in Malazgirt every year because Malazgirt is ours. This is where our story began. We are in Malazgirt, where our ancestors said to Sultan Alp Arslan, ‘I leave you a homeland, and it will be yours forever.’ We are here every year to commemorate and celebrate the 26th of August Malazgirt Victory, one of the most important events in Turkish and world history. We gather here under the leadership of our President, with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahçeli, our coalition, and our ministers, to shout to the world that we are united. Sometimes, they ask on television programs, ‘Why do you go to Malazgirt?’ Malazgirt is a memory. We come to listen to ourselves. Remembering is coming back to oneself. They brewed justice, compassion, peace, brotherhood, love, wisdom, and insight in this land. We come to don this awareness. Malazgirt is the thousand-year reference of our understanding that our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan describes as one nation, one flag, one homeland, one state. We come to don this awareness of flag and homeland,” he said.

Yıldız explained that events would continue here for 4 days: “In archery and equestrian tournaments, we will draw our bows and shoot our arrows for the freedom and independence of our brothers in Gaza and Palestine. We will don our bows for the eternal independence of the Republic of Turkey, our state, and our nation. We will don this awareness and, together, on Sunday, we will make a pact of unity from here, Malazgirt Square, to the whole world. May Allah make our unity, togetherness, and brotherhood everlasting,” he expressed.

The opening was attended by Governor Çakır’s wife Bahar Çakır, district governors, mayors, Chief Public Prosecutor Hüseyin Kantar, Provincial Police Chief Serkan Karaman, MHP General Chairman’s Chief Advisor Prof. Dr. Ruhi Ersoy, Malazgirt District Governor Göksu Bayram, department heads, representatives of civil society organizations, and citizens.