Local
April 1, 2002
Year 14 No. 297
April 1, 2002
Year 14 No. 297
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Local
April 1, 2002 Year 14 No. 297 |
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Ipek
Özulu Represents Turkey as the Azalea Turkish Princess This event, co-produced with the Virginia Arts Festival, is a musical pageantry with appearances by Queen Azalea and her Court. AZALEA Turkish Princess Ms. Ipek Özulu will be accompanied by marching bands, massed pipes and drums, dancers, singers, gymnasts and more. On Saturday, April 27(Main Events Day) the Parade of Nations at Waterside Drive, Norfolk, will present school bands, military bands, companies, associations marching in the parade. NATO nations will be represented by their floats. Turkish float is completely redecorated this year with lots of flowers. Two cadets, a young lady and Turkish children will escort AZALEA Turkish Princess Ms. Ipek Özulu on the float. At the conclusion of the parade visitors may visit the fair booths right behind the VIP tent. Town Point Park will host NATO Nations' special exhibition tents, and a music show. Turkey will be represented by a magnificent stand displaying unique Turkish arts. The guests will be treated to Turkish Delight, desserts, souvenirs etc. Ms. Ipek Özulu will be crowned at the conclusion of the Parade.
JOIN
ATAA Annual Delegation Visit to Turkey and Bulgaria Dear ATAA
Member: The Assembly organized similar delegations in the past six years with the participation of a total of over 150 ATAA members and Turkish American community leaders. During these trips, our delegates met with high-level politicians in the countries we visited, including the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Azerbaijan, Israel and Greece. Our programs also included extensive meetings and briefings with leading bureaucrats, civil and business sector representatives. These trips serve our mission to educate members of our community on domestic and foreign issues concerning Turkey. We also benefit from these visits as occasions to convey to all interested parties in Turkey, at the highest levels, the perspectives of Turkish Americans and the Assembly on issues relevant to US-Turkish relations and explain more clearly our role as community members. This year's trip to Turkey and Bulgaria is designed to serve these main objectives. Our decision to visit Bulgaria this year is prompted by an encouraging turn in relations between Turkey and Bulgaria. As you know, Bulgaria was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1396 until 1878. The country has an important place in Ottoman cultural and historical legacy and is home to over 800 thousand people of Turkish ethnicity (nearly 10% of Bulgarian population), who are descendants of the Rumeli Turks of the Ottoman Empire. This community in the 1980's had been subject to forced assimilation. Todor Zhivkov, the communist dictator of Bulgaria demanded of Turkey to open its borders in order to receive all 'Bulgarian Muslims', who wanted to live there and hundreds of thousands of Bulgarian Turks, fleeing persecution, became refugees in Turkey. With the fall of the Communist regime, such persecution ended, but the political parties established by ethnic Bulgarian Turks continued to struggle against nationalists for political representation and rights. Today, the Turkish community is represented in the Bulgarian ruling coalition. Relations between Turkey and Bulgaria have improved dramatically and Bulgaria is now the second largest trade partner of Turkey. Turkey also is one of the strongest proponents of Bulgaria's NATO membership. The ATAA delegation will meet with leaders and members of the Bulgarian Turkish community, in order to show our continuedsolidarity, as well as other Bulgarian leaders and take a tour of historically important cities and sites of Bulgaria, including Sofia, Pleven (Plevne), Varna, Ruse (Ruscuk) and Burgas. We believe
you will gain much from this visit to help your efforts to create a better
understanding about Turkey in the United States and enrich your understanding
of Turkey's history and contemporary issues. Participation is limited,
and seats will be filled on a first-come first-serve basis. Therefore,
I strongly advise you to make your reservation before the registration
deadline of April 15, 2002. I hope that you will join us on this educational
and thoroughly enjoyable trip, and I look forward to experiencing this
event with you. Dr.Orhan
Kaymakcalan |
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The
Turkish Times - Ms. Ipek Özulu, a 19-year-old freshman
in Virginia Tech. VA, majoring in music, will represent Turkey as the
Azalea Turkish Princess during the 49th Azalea Festival events are scheduled
between 22-28 April 2002, in Norfolk, Virginia. Ms. Ozulu is the daughter
of Ilhan Ozulu of Virginia, a computer engineer and an accomplished musician.
