Zahit Mungan, a kite artist from Mardin, southeastern Türkiye, won a gold medal at the 40th Weifang International Kite Festival in China with his 3D peacock kite that took him five months to create.
Mungan, who has been passionate about kites for 26 years since he started flying a nylon bag attached to a string as a child, has traveled to 30 countries with his professional kites.
Mungan incorporates the rich culture of Mardin into his kites, featuring the city's cultural elements and mythology. For instance, he made a kite of "Shahmaran," a mythical creature that is half woman and half snake, and a kite with donkey and pigeon motifs. He also made a kite of the peacock, a sacred animal in the religion of the Yazidis, a minority group in the region.
Mungan struggled to make the peacock kite using patchwork techniques, but he completed the 6-meter-long (19-5-foot-long) and 5-meter-wide kite by sewing each piece together. He expressed his pride in representing his country at international kite events, including the Weifang International Kite Festival, which he had wanted to attend for 10 years.
Mungan flew the Turkish flag and an Atatürk kite at the festival and thanked the Sabancı Foundation for supporting him. He hopes to revive the kite culture in Türkiye and pass it down to future generations.
"When you hear the word 'kite,' Weifang in China comes to mind. That's the capital of kites. I was invited there and flew the peacock kite at the festival and became the world champion."
"My kite received great attention at the festival, which had hundreds of participants from about 60 countries. I am happy to have won a gold medal for my country in the capital of the kites. It was great excitement," Mungan exclaimed.
Mungan shared he waved the Turkish flag and flew the Atatürk kite at the festival and thanked the Sabancı Foundation for their support.
"With the advancing technology, our kite culture is starting to disappear. I want to revive this culture in our country and pass it down from generation to generation," said Mungan.
