Turkish Day proclamation, celebration planned at Syracuse City Hall

Besides organizing Turkish Day on April 23 in Syracuse, the Turkish Cultural Center in Syracuse offers cooking classes (above), educational and recreational activities for children and families. The center is located at 320 Tracy St., Syracuse. (Photo courtesy of Tim Saka)
Besides organizing Turkish Day on April 23 in Syracuse, the Turkish Cultural Center in Syracuse offers cooking classes (above), educational and recreational activities for children and families. The center is located at 320 Tracy St., Syracuse. (Photo courtesy of Tim Saka)


Date posted: April 24, 2014

MELINDA JOHNSON / SYRACUSE, N.Y.

The first Turkish Day in Syracuse will be celebrated at City Hall from noon to 1 p.m. today. Mayor Stephanie Miner will read a proclamation followed by the raising of the flags of the United States and Turkey. The Turkish national anthem will be played. Afterward, folk dances will be performed and Turkish cuisine will be served. Weather permitting, the festivities will be held on the front steps of City Hall, 223 E. Washington St. If the weather is inclement, the celebration will move inside the building.

Tim Saka, director of the local Turkish Cultural Center, is organizing the event. For the Turkish community, April 23 is an important date in Turkey’s history. In 1920, the Turkish Parliament was inaugurated. “It’s like a celebration of democracy in Turkey,” said Saka. In Turkey, the holiday is National Sovereignty Day.

It is also the day Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the first president of the republic of Turkey, set aside as Children’s Day. Saka said Ataturk believed “democracy benefits most the children because they are the future of the country and they deserve the democracy. So he dedicated that day as a children’s festival.”

Saka said the Turkish Cultural Center in Syracuse attracts a community of about 500 that includes Turkish, Bosnian and Ahiska populations. The center organizes a yearly Friendship Dinner, food drives, coffee and baklava nights, classes and activities for children, hosts lectures and assists with the resettlement of new immigrants.

Source: Syracuse.com , April 23, 2014

Tags: | | | |


Related News

PA State Rep. Margo Davidson reflects on her visit to Turkish refugees in Greece

We heard about mothers being imprisoned right after birth in Turkey. And it’s just really a horrible shame; and that they’re still being tracked by the Turkish government at this point is just really frightening. Turkey had achieved democracy, but now it’s under a single person’s rule–which is what we call a dictatorship.

Turkey’s Unethical Interference in American (Muslim) Civic Society is Dangerous

The Erdogan government jails its citizens without due process, severely curtails freedom of speech by jailing journalists, and ignores the plight of vulnerable minorities. They are the least credible messengers to warn Americans about their civic duty. The Turkish Consulate’s attempt to use McCarthyite tactics to spread fear and unduly influence American civic life is simply abhorrent and deserves condemnation.

Hizmet’s Relations with Other Muslim Communities in the United States

There seems to be some level of disconnection between the Hizmet and the other Muslim communities in the United States. It should be acknowledged that some volunteers or institutions of the Hizmet movement have already achieved a good level of cooperation with other Muslim communities in certain places; nevertheless, such good examples are only local and very limited.

A Canadian-Saudi’s reflections on Hizmet

We also noted the Turkish people’s respect for each other. Girls in miniskirts mingled easily with those in hijab, and so did people of various faiths. We met priests who appreciated the rights they enjoyed and saw synagogues that were well preserved and attended.

Turkish charity dedicates well in Africa to brutally killed Özgecan Aslan

The Turkish charity organization Kimse Yok Mu (Is Anybody There?) constructed in a small town in one of Africa’s poorest countries, Chad, dedicated to the memory of Özgecan Aslan, who was brutally murdered in Mersin province on Feb. 11.

Zaman Stanizai on Fethullah Gulen and Hizmet Movement

Dr. Zaman Stanizai is a Professor of Mythological Studies at the Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, California and he teaches Political Science at California State University, Dominguez Hills. He has written on political theory with emphasis on the viability of third world states encountering globalization, and on political identity focusing on the politicization of ethnic, national, and religious identities as a contributing factor in regional and world conflicts.

Latest News

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

After Reunion: A Quiet Transformation Within the Hizmet Movement

Erdogan’s Failed Crusade: The World Rejects His War on Hizmet

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

In Case You Missed It

Would Gülen want to return to Turkey?

Erdoğan after one-man rule: CHP leader

Hizmet Movement: Partners We Want

Ambassadors uneasy over Erdoğan’s orders concerning graft probe

Zaman daily launches news portal in Kurdish language

Indonesian authorities request 100 more Turkish schools

Gülen files criminal complaint over illegal wiretapping

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News