The opening ceremony of the Ismil Kazakh Turks Social Facility, which was held in cooperation with Karatay Municipality and Ismil Kazakh Turks Culture, Social Assistance and Solidarity Association, was held in Karatay (Konya) on 30 June 2024.
Karatay Mayor Hasan Kılca, Kazakhstan Ambassador to Ankara Yerkebulan Sapiyev, Zeytinburnu Mayor Ömer Arısoy, Kazakhstan Konya Honorary Consul Mustafa Kabakcı, Presidents of Kazakh Associations, representatives of non-governmental organizations and political parties and many guests attended the opening ceremony.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Social Facility, Karatay Mayor Hasan Kılca said, “Kazakhstan is always in our hearts. We are two cognate states; We are one nation. Our Konya is a city that has been considered the Anatolian Turkish homeland for more than a thousand years and served as the capital of the Seljuks for more than 200 years. Following the call of Mevlana, our Kazakh compatriots were settled here in 1955, within the means of our state. They have been residing in İsmil since then,” he said, and wished that the Social Facility would be beneficial. Mayor Kılca noted that the Facility will play an important role in keeping the cultural values of the Kazakh people alive and strengthening social solidarity.
Zeytinburnu Mayor Ömer Arısoy also pointed out that the İsmil Kazakh Turks Social Facility will play an important role in social assistance and solidarity activities and thanked everyone who contributed to the construction of the facility. Mayor Arısoy said: “We have always stood by our Kazakh brothers and we will continue to do so. The existence of Kazakh Turks contributes greatly to our cultural richness. I believe that the Social Facility we opened here will play an important role in social assistance and solidarity activities.”
In his speech, Mehmet Muhammet Alim, President of Ismil Kazakh Turks Culture, Social Assistance and Solidarity Association, expressed his satisfaction with living in Karatay and said; “We are honored to settle in Konya and become the grandchildren of Mevlana. We increased our joy even more when the Republic of Kazakhstan gained independence on December 16, 1991, and started to act with the principle of two states, one nation. He thanked Karatay Mayor Hasan Kılca for his contributions to the construction of the Social Facility.
Kazakhstan Ambassador Yerkebulan Sapiyev emphasized the deep ties between Kazakh and Turkish people; He pointed out that the Social Facility will contribute to this unity. Ambassador Sapiyev; “We met here with our Kazakh brothers who migrated to various provinces of Turkey for the opening of this beautiful social facility. The facility we opened is very valuable for Kazakh Turks. There are deep ties between Kazakh and Turkish people. We are connected to each other by our history. I believe that this facility will contribute to this deep bond. “I would like to thank Karatay Mayor Hasan Kılca, our Association and those who contributed to the construction of the Social Facility,” he said.
Following the speeches, the opening of the Kazakh Turks Social Facility, which was brought to İsmil District, was held by the protocol members and the facility was toured.
