Thousands of guests attended the finals of the seventh Turkish Olympiads song competition, held on Wednesday at İstanbul's Haliç Congress Center.

The Turkish Olympiads bring many students from around the world to Turkey to compete in singing, poetry and dance. The competition started with an Urfa sıra gecesi -- a traditional night gathering in Şanlıurfa where those present sing songs -- show presented by African students and continued with Turkish songs sung by 18 students coming from Albania, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Chile, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Mozambique, Niger, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Tatarstan, Turkmenistan, the UK and the US. Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç delivered a speech at the event after presenting an award to the husband of Günnar Ergüneş, who died while serving as a teacher in Azerbaijan.Recalling that he had previously given such awards to wives of deceased teachers, he said this was the first time he was giving it to the husband. “This shows that serving the people has nothing to do with being male or female. Everyone cooperates in these educational activities. It is not easy to console a husband who lost his wife at an early age. Yet he and his two children know how important this work is,” he said. Performances were evaluated by an committee made up of Turkish Language Association (TDK) President Şükrü Haluk Akalın, Zaman daily Editor-in-Chief Ekrem Dumanlı, Turkish singers Ebru Gündeş, Emrah, Erhan Güleryüz, Ertuğrul Erkişi, Fatih Kısaparmak, Orhan Hakalmaz and Serdar Ortaç, actor Oktay Kaynarca and famous Turkish soccer player Hakan Şükür. Competitors were grouped in five according to the level of difficulty of Turkish, with a winner chosen from each group.  Stating that teachers who dedicate their time to students worldwide should always be remembered, he said, “We should never forget the brave teachers who headed to South Africa, Vietnam and other places and suffer from homesickness.” Arınç also expressed in tears that he was deeply impressed by the song “Şimdi Uzaklardasın” (You Are Far Away Now), sung by a student on a group visit to him, because it was a song his late mother loved. Members of the evaluation committee expressed their appreciation of the event and congratulated education volunteers playing a part in the success of the students, who fascinated the audience with their Turkish songs. Stating that he is quite happy to see Turkish being spoken around the world, soccer player Şükür said it is a source of pride for him to take part in the event. Pop singer Ortaç said he first watched the Turkish Olympiads last year and noted that it is a source of happiness for him to see children from all over the world speaking Turkish. Singer Emrah, noting that he had participated in a number of evaluation committees of song contests, said none were as important as these Olympiads. Dumanlı thanked all who contributed to the spectacular night.  Congratulating the competitors for their performances, pop singer Güleryüz said teachers played the largest role in teaching Turkish to the children. Gündeş said all the competitors ranked first as far as she was concerned. TDK President Akalın also congratulated the teachers who taught Turkish to these children. “More importantly, I congratulate those who educated these teachers,” he added.Champions of the night Winners of the five groups are as follows: * 1st group Muhammed Salman from Pakistan, “Benim Babam” (My Father) * 2nd group Eziz Küpceyev from Turkmenistan, “Mektebin Bacaları” (Chimneys of the School) * 3rd group Karinavega VegaMonsalve from Chile, “Hasretinle Yandı Gönlüm” (My Heart Cried by Missing You) * 4th group Bangaina Jose from Mozambique, “Sivas'ın Yollarına” (To the Ways of Sivas) * 5th group Farzana Samia from Bangladesh, “Sevdim Seni” (I Loved You) 
 05 June 2009, FridayNURULLAH KAYA, NERGİHAN ÇELEN  İSTANBUL