Heralding the awakening of nature and coming of Spring in Anatolian and Middle Asia cultures, the Newroz festival was enthusiastically celebrated by the Ondokuz Mayıs University (OMU) family.
The festival held in the open-air stage in front of the OMU Life Center was attended by Rector Prof. Dr. Sait Bilgiç, Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Mehmet Kuran, Secretary General Assoc. Prof. Dr. Menderes Kabadayı, academicians, administrative staff and a great number of students.
Delivering the opening speech, Rector Prof. Dr. Sait Bilgiç said: "Dear valuable members of OMU family and valuable students; we are very happy to be with you in these first days of spring. Just a few days ago, on 18 March, we walked together with dear Samsun citizens. We have to be together on bad days as well. If it weren't for the sacrifices of the heroes who we commemorated on 18 March, it would be impossible for us to be together in these lands where we call our homeland. For that reason, we commemorate with gratitude all the martyrs who fought in Çanakkale and before and left us this homeland where we live freely."
Noting that Newroz heralded the coming of spring, brotherhood, love and unity, Rector Bilgiç continued: “These values are very important for us. Our young students and employees gathered here now; each of you is a different color, value and beauty. Togetherness strengthens that color, increases unity and solidarity. We are in dire need of this. As long as we remain strong and in unison and work hard, we will continue to be the hope of not only the ones that protect Turkey and guarantee the future of this people but also of oppressed nations. The burden on our shoulders and our responsibility is very heavy. We can overcome this by being aware of it and strengthening the brotherhood, love and respect among us mutually. As OMU, We are trying to be a part of any effort and work towards this. We thank everyone who contributes to this.”
Pointing out that OMU is one of the most important universities in the world, Rector Prof. Dr. Sait Bilgiç said: “OMU ranks in the first 1000 universities among 30.000 world universities. With its facilities, academicians and staff, it is one of the universities which will walk in confidence to the future taking firm steps forward. As a university, without limiting ourselves to be good in education, we are trying to be a part of works producing beneficial knowledge and technology. To that end, we are trying to increase our R&D budget. That’s why we are trying to increase the number of our external budgets and have gained ground in this regard. OMU will be the source of many innovations, knowledge and technology in the city, region and country it is situated in. This will be possible with you and your successes. I wish you all success, congratulate you for your participation in this event and hope to see you again in many Newroz festivals.”
After the speeches, the students of OMU Turkish and Faculty of Education presented their music and poem performances which won great recognition. Elnaz from OMU Turkish recited their own poem titled “Newroz” and Sabriye İslami sang the song “Vazgeçtim”. Faculty of Education student Furkan Kaan Oğraş shared the poem “Memleket İsterim” and Emin Karadeniz the poem “Anadolu Sevgilisi” with the audience in the square.
OMU Folk Dances Society played horon in a great circle with the enthusiastic participation of students. International students played zeybek, gave a different taste to the event.
Rector Bilgiç and students lighted the fire which is an important ritual of Newroz celebrations. Jumping over the fire, which was considered as a purifying and purgation symbol by the old Turkish culture and was believed to protect people from evil and illnesses, Rector Prof. Dr. Sait Bilgiç, administrative managers and students had a fun time themselves and entertained the audience.
Important symbols of the Newroz festival such as egg fight, rope tensioning and sack race were not forgotten. Prof. Dr. Sait Bilgiç and students closely inspected the materials exhibited in booths by international students about their own countries and cultures. Participants were served Afghan rice prepared by international students and dibek coffee produced by OMU students with 7 ingredients.
At the end of the event, dances of students to Middle Asia and Middle East tunes drew great interest from the audience.
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