31.12.2018
Attended by a team of 5 persons from Kuveyt Türk, the camp hosted 194 scout leaders from 23 Turkish cities and 64 scout leaders from 11 countries including TRNC, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq ad Kuwait. The scouts walking at a temperature felt as low as –35 degrees performed the “reflection of martyrdom” lying over snow and shutting their eyes as they reach the martyrdom.
Kuveyt Türk has became the official sponsor of “Mount Allahuekber Martyrs Memorial National Awareness Camp” held by Turkish Scouting and Guiding Federation in memory of 104th anniversary of Sarikamiş Operation. The national awareness camp has been attended by 194 scout leaders from 23 Turkish cities and 64 scout leaders from 11 countries including TRNC, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq ad Kuwait. The scouts arrived in Erzurum on Saturday, 22 December to leave for the national awareness camp. It is required to participate in a winter camp previously in order to be eligible for participation in the Allahuekber National Awareness Camp taking place at extreme weather conditions with a temperature as low as –45 degrees. A team of 5 persons has also participated in the camp from Kuveyt Türk.
First event to take place at Gaziler (Veterans) village
The scouts have first attended the Allahuekber Martyrs Memorial event held by Erzurum Governor’s Office on Sunday, December 23. During the event held in Gaziler village of Senkaya township as the headquarter of Sarıkamış Operation in 1915, Erzurum Governor Oktay Memiş has delivered the Turkish flag to the scouts to be raised on the post at the martyrdom at Mount Allahuekber. Following the ceremony, the attendees walked down to the Gaziler Village Martyrdom.
Challenging walk of 3.5 hours
In the evening of the same day, the scouts participated in the torchlight procession organized by the Senkaya District Governorate and marched in a single row on Monday, December 24, towards the Kaynakyayla district of Allahuekber Mountain where the national awareness camp will be held. Highly challenging scout trekking took 3.5 hours under heavy snowfall on a very steep course. Scouts reached the Kaynakyayla district by tracking the path of their grandfather 104 years ago.
Filipino Onie recited Shahada
On Tuesday morning, December 25, the scouts visited the Kaynakyayla Martyrdom cemetery, to perform Quran recitation wishing blessings for the souls of the martyrs. Onie Celeppara, a Philippine scout, who joined the camp with the Kuwaiti team, became a Muslim by reciting the Shahada as influenced by the heart-melting ambience. Onie has then been named as Abdullah. His scout mates celebrated him.
Scouts trekked at –35 degrees
In the afternoon, scouts set out for the Firintepe Martyrdom, where our soldiers were frozen to death and martyred. The scouts reaching up the martyrdom by walking for 2.5 hours at a temperature felt as low as –35 degrees due to heavy storm of up to 80 km per hour performed the “reflection of martyrdom” lying over snow and shutting their eyes making a circle around the martyrdom.
Stayed in sleeping bags till morning
Back to the camp area by proceeding in a single row along the footway getting as narrow as one meter in places, the scouts have attended the mevlid and recitation prayer program held in Kaynakyayla Mosque. The scouts, who were in a sleeping bag under difficult conditions during nights, returned to the village of Kaynak and then to the village of Gaziler after a 3-hour march in single row after the ceremony held at Kaynakyayla on morning of December 26. Following the closing ceremony in Gaziler village, scouts returned to Erzurum. Scouts said that it was a great honor for them to participate in the four-day camp.
Kuveyt Türk supports the scouts at Çanakkale and Sarıkamış
Supporting a number of social responsibility projects with its motto ‘we grow with our values’ for the preservation, development and survival of all local and national values of Türkiye, Kuveyt Türk has sponsored various events organized by Turkish Scouting and Guiding Federation in the past. Sponsored the “Mount Allahuekber Martyrs Memorial National Awareness Camp” last year, too, the bank has also sponsored the scouts as part of the “Çanakkale 57. Regiment National Awareness Camp”. Kuveyt Türk has presented powerbank to each of the camping scouts as gift in order to maintain the contact with their families.