In cooperation with the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Yunus Emre Institute, a special event was organized to introduce traditional Turkish archery to the diplomatic corps and their families in Ankara.

The event, hosted by the Traditional Sports Youth and Sports Club, was held on September 22nd, 2023, and was attended by the ambassadors of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Paraguay, Guatemala, Afghanistan, Somalia, South Korea and Venezuela, as well as representatives from 20 embassies and the families of diplomatic corps.

At the event, a training on Turkish war arrows making was given by Osman İlhan Şener, Deputy Director General of Cultural Diplomacy of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Stating that the event was found interesting by the diplomatic corps and their families Yunus Emre Institute President Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş made the following evaluations: “As Yunus Emre Institute, we wanted to show that there is such an opportunity to get to know traditional Turkish archery closely in Ankara through the event we held in the national arena and that Turkish archery has become widespread with the successes gained worldwide.”

Underlining that Türkiye has many cultural riches to introduce to the world, Institute President Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş stated that traditional Turkish archery courses are organized by the Institute in a wide geography from South America to Africa.

“The interest in traditional Turkish archery both in Türkiye and in different countries of the world is increasing day by day. Our trainees, who have started to get to know Turkish culture through the archery courses held in our representative offices abroad, are also starting to attend our Turkish courses, so the number of people who know Turkish culture and Turkish in all corners of the world is increasing exponentially,” President Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş said.

Paraguay’s Ambassador to Ankara, Ceferino Valdez, stated that the event where traditional Turkish archery was introduced was very important in terms of cultural exchange.

Stating that local people in Paraguay still use arrows for hunting, “This event was a very interesting experience for us. I really appreciate all the work done by the organizers of such a special event,” Valdez said.

At the end of the event, archer Bekir Büyüksındır and licensed trainers of Yunus Emre Institute and Traditional Sports Youth and Sports Club gave practical training in the field of archery.