Yunus Emre InstituteAn evening of music, dances, games, and prizes took place at Yunus Emre Institute London for Turkish course students on Friday 20th May 2022!
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Students have been working very hard at home to learn Turkish with our online Turkish courses so we organised an event for all those enrolled in our courses to get a taste of Turkey right here in London and meet your course-mates in person!
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The evening consisted of a relaxed atmosphere which was the perfect opportunity to test out the Turkish students have been learning while socialising with course-mates.
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The evening was hosted by B1.2 student Mariya Gospodinova and Yunus Emre Institute personnel Meryem Kucuk. Dr Mehmet Karakuş, Director of Yunus Emre Institute London, Professor Dr Ahmet Sacit Açıkgözoğlu, board member of Yunus Emre Institute, and Dr. Hadra Kübra Erkinay Tamtamış, Turkish coordinator gave opening speeches for the evening. Touching on the students’ hard work, the teachers, and the Yunus Emre Institute staff, the speeches were heartwarming to all in the room!
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The rest of the evening featured a number of sketches, readings, songs, and dances! These included A1.1 student Kieran Murray who attends classes run jointly with The University of Cambridge Language Centre who introduced himself and represented his fellow students in Cambridge. B1.2 student Kanella Poulakou gave a heartfelt talk that moved the audience to tear up on ‘Anneler Günü’ (mother’s day).
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Afterwards we had a consumed performance by A2.2 students Leyla Daybelge, Oscar Selim Jantti, and Nickolaos Pallikaris who performed Nasreddin Hoca’s “Ya Tutarsa” (What if it holds) fable. The evening also featured poems! A1.1 student Brenda Taylor read Nazım Hikmet’s “Seviyorum Seni” (I love you), B2.2 student Mübarik Arshad read Rumi’s “Olduğun Gibi Görün” (Look as you are) poem and B2.2 student Sam Jenkins performed Yahya Kemal Beyatlı’s “Sessiz Gemi” (Silent Ship)!
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The fun did not end there! Students were able to take part in a quick fire Turkish riddles prepared by A1.2 student Rakan Otaibi! The winner, John Sarı, won a set of Turkish books. This fun round was followed by A2-B1 conversation class student Mary Duman and B2.2 student John Sarı reading a number of Turkish tongue twisters!
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Delving into what it means to be a Turk, the host of the evening, Mariya, also led a comedic presentation that most of the room could relate to despite not being Turks. We guess the Turkish classes are rubbing off on everyone!
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One of the many highlights of the evening was A1.2 student Jacob Zhao who brought life to the Türk Meddahlık tradition. A ‘Meddah’ was an old-timey comedian of the Ottoman Empire who would traditionally wear a fez, hold a walking stick and have a white handkerchief draped over his shoulder.
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Meanwhile, A1.2 students Wiem Bejaoui, Hala Nasri, and Joseph Brazier led the group by singing the song ‘Gezsen Anadoluyu’ and watched a short video prepared by our A2.2 students. The evening’s performances were capped with a wonderful performance by Wiem and Maria who performed the traditional Mardin folk dance, Reyhani, taught by Dr Erkinay Tamtamış who is from Mardin, Turkey! The evening came to a lively end as all the students and teachers tried different and easy Turkish folk dances together!
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Doesn’t this all sound very excited? Sign up for our summer intensive Turkish courses that start the week beginning June 20th! Check it out on our website!
