TDBB’s Support to 509th Ajvatovica Festival
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The Union of Turkish World Municipalities (TDBB) provided financial support to 509th Ajvatovica Festival held in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 14-30 June 2019. The festival that was attended tourists from Turkey, local authorities, non-governmental organizations were also attended by Presidential
The Union of Turkish World Municipalities (TDBB) provided financial support to 509th Ajvatovica Festival held in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 14-30 June 2019.
The festival that was attended tourists from Turkey, local authorities, non-governmental organizations were also attended by Presidential Advisory Board Member, Bulent Arinc, Turkey's Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Haldun Koc, Mufti of Travnik Ahmed Adilovic, foreign mission representatives and invitees as well as numerous Bosnian citizens.
In the early morning hours, 101 horsemen with traditional fez hats, traditional clothes on their backs and banners in their hands arrived at the town of Karaula near the city of Travnik, and they were sent off with takbirs, prayers, and hymns to the town of Prusac where the central manifestation was to be held. Thousands of people attended the ceremony and performed a noon prayer at the place where it is believed that the rock was miraculously split and the water that ended a drought in Prusac came out.
Mufti of Tuzla Vahid Fazlovic, who represented Husein Kavazovic, Grand Mufti of the Islamic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Religious Affairs), said in his speech that Ayvaz Dede represents eternal faith and obedience to Allah, He also said, “Today, we met in the presence of Allah as our grandfathers did 509 years ago. We came together to preserve our faith and traditions”.
Mufti of Travnik Ahmed Adilovic also pointed out that the Ajvatovica Festival is one of the most important events in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He also added, “We should be proud of our culture and build our future on these foundations. They tried to destroy it many times but we stood strong”.
Bülent Arınç, the member of the High Advisory Board of the Presidency, who attended the festival, recalled that he has been to Bosnia and Herzegovina many times since 1997. “I came here, I saw this beauty. It was a great honor to go to Ayvaz Dede's place, to be among thousands of people, to relive those days and to perform a noon prayer. We pray for the peace of our Bosniak brothers, and we always remember the martyrs here in our Fatihas (prays). Ayvaz Dede is an alperen and a saint. With his prayer and himmet, a miraculous event happened here. We are here to commemorate this historic event”.
Hundreds of horsemen, who set out from different Bosnian cities, set up a visual feast at the country's longest-running event. Also, a concert performed by the Turkish Armed Forces’ Mehteran Band was watched with great interest.
In the ceremony where the whirling dervishes have made their performance, 7-year-old Mirhad Dedic, received a certificate of appreciation as the youngest participating horsemen, and 74-year-old Emin Bektic received the same certificate as the oldest participating horsemen.
The 509th Ajvatovica Festival held in the Bosnian town of Prusac ended with the noon prayer that was performed with the participation of thousands of people.
Ajvatovica Festival is the commemoration of the event where Ayvaz Dede, an Anatolian saint from Akhisar, according to the legend told for generations brought water to the Prusac village after 40 days of worship in an unusual event of separation of the rock that was preventing the waters flow to the city. Since the Ottoman times in the Balkans (banned from 1947-1990), approximately 100 thousand people (10 - 20 thousand people at the closing ceremony) are attending the Ajvatovica Festival every year, which is the largest Islamic Festival in Europe.
Scientific forum, conference, book presentation, artistic exhibitions, religious music concerts, sports competitions, traditional horse marches, folk dances, and many other activities as a part of the festival are organized by 13 Municipalities and the Muftiates of Travnik, Bugojno, Jajce, Busovača, Donji Vakuf, Novi Travnik, Vitez, Livno, Duvno, Prnjavor, Zenica and Prusac.
Ajvatovica Festival is supported by TDBB since 2015 upon the request of Travnik Municipality, one of TDBB’s member municipalities from Bosnia.
01.07.2019
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