The Balkan winds blew for the 18th time in Osmangazi.

The 18th International Balkan Festival, held this year with the support of Osmangazi Municipality, was conducted with great enthusiasm. Thousands of participants from Bursa experienced an unforgettable night with beautiful dance performances and songs sung by Rumeli Semih.

The festival, organized in collaboration with Osmangazi Municipality and the Namık Kemal Folk Dance Youth and Sports Club Association (NAKEM), brought the winds of the Balkans to Bursa. In addition to the 7 dance groups participating from Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, and Montenegro, the Rumeli Folk Dances and NAKEM Folk Dances troupes also put on a magnificent show. At the end of the festival, the beloved Balkan music artist Rumeli Semih made the night unforgettable for thousands with the songs he performed. The event was attended by Osmangazi Mayor Erkan Aydın, Yıldırım Mayor Oktay Yılmaz, Bursa members of parliament, representatives from political parties, RUMELİFED President Şaban Gülşen, NAKEM President Celal Yalçın, BAL-GÖÇ President Emin Balkan, Osmangazi Belediyespor Club Board President Fatih Karayılan, and thousands of citizens from Bursa.

Aydın: “We decided to continue all activities in the Balkans”

Osmangazi Mayor Erkan Aydın stated that Bursa is known as a Balkan city and said, “Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk said, ‘immigrants are the sacred memories of lost lands.’ Our Bursa is known as a Balkan city that hosts fellow citizens from every region of the Balkans and many places around the world. As Osmangazi Municipality, we are pleased to host this festival. I would like to thank NAKEM and RUMELİFED, which have organized this festival for 18 years, as well as all the mayors who contributed to the organization of this festival. I am glad they started this festival. When we took office, we decided to continue all activities in the Balkans. In the fourth week of our term, we participated in an event organized in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We continued the 1st Murad Hüdavendigar commemorations held in Kosovo. This week, there is an oil wrestling event organized by Kozlukebir Municipality. We are also supporting and contributing to this event. It is very important for us to support our compatriots in the Balkans so they can continue their lives. We have seen and experienced this firsthand. As Osmangazi Municipality, we will stand by them until the end, and our support will continue until the end.”

“This week is the week of victory”

Continuing his speech by celebrating the 102nd anniversary of the August 30 Victory Day and the 953rd anniversary of the Malazgirt Victory, which opened the gates of Anatolia to the Turks in 1071, Mayor Aydın said, “This week is a week of victory. 102 years ago, Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who initiated one of the greatest victories won worldwide, the Great Offensive, and our martyrs, put their lives on the line without thinking of retreat for the independence of our country. They achieved one of the greatest victories in the world, allowing us to hold these events freely here today, to hear the calls to prayer, and to see our flag wave. I bow respectfully before their sacred memories. May their souls rest in peace, and their places be heaven. It is also the anniversary of the Malazgirt Victory, which made these lands our homeland 953 years ago, in 1071. I commemorate Sultan Alp Arslan and all our heroes with respect, honor, and gratitude. They opened the gates of Anatolia and made these beautiful lands a home for the Turks.”

Yalçın: “We will continue the festival by doing better each year”

NAKEM Association President Celal Yalçın, in his speech, stated, “We are holding the 18th edition of our festival, which we improve upon every day and bring together friendly and kin groups from the Balkans, in the Balkan city of Bursa. We thank our Osmangazi Mayor Erkan Aydın for his unwavering support in organizing the festival. The festival featured 400 dancers from our associations in the Balkans and Bursa, and at the end of it, a very special voice, Rumeli Semih, took the stage. We will continue to strive to make our festival better each year.”

RUMELİFED President Şaban Gülşen also stated, “Our Mayor Erkan Aydın has provided great support in organizing the festival. There are friendly and brotherly hearts here. We have not forgotten the Balkans, and we will never forget.”

Thank You Visit to Mayor Aydın

After the International Balkan Festival, Celal Yalçın, the President of the Namık Kemal Folk Dance Youth and Sports Club Association, RUMELİFED President Şaban Gülşen, and representatives of the groups that came to Bursa from the Balkans for the festival visited Osmangazi Mayor Erkan Aydın. The guests expressed that the support of Osmangazi Municipality is very important for both the Balkan immigrants in Bursa and the compatriots living in the Balkans, and they extended their thanks to Mayor Aydın for all the support he has provided.