Justice Minister Akın Gürlek and other dignitaries joined a large crowd Sunday as the 745th edition of the annual Remembrance of Ertuğrul and Yörük Festival came to a close in Söğüt, the town where the Ottoman Empire was launched centuries ago in western Türkiye.
The event is an occasion to remember the father of Osman I, founder of the empire that lasted for more than six centuries, and to celebrate Yörüks, nomadic Turks who trace their roots to fellow Oghuz clans of which Ertuğrul was a member. Representatives of Yörük tribes staged parades in Söğüt, now part of Bilecik province, while guests visited Ertuğrul’s tomb.
Dressed in traditional Yörük garb, Gürlek addressed a fervent crowd in Söğüt and said the “sacred fire” that burned in the town centuries ago had illuminated the path of the Century of Türkiye, referring to Türkiye’s vision for the future in the centenary of the Republic of Türkiye.
Gürlek said the Turks’ march began in a tent in Söğüt and continued toward new goals under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The event’s exact history is not known, but it was inspired by a banquet hosted by Ertuğrul himself more than seven centuries ago after he returned to Söğüt from a campaign in the Domaniç highlands. After Ertuğrul’s death, this “toy” (a Turkic term for a large feast or banquet) became a tradition and evolved into its current form, a three-day festival that starts on a solemn note with prayers for Ertuğrul and the Ottoman ancestors of the nation.
“Shaped by the determination of Ertuğrul Gazi, the courage of Osman Gazi and Sheikh Edebali’s philosophy that ‘Keep people alive so that the state may live,’ these lands became one of the strongest bearers of our civilizational history, placing justice and winning hearts before the sword,” Gürlek said in a speech at the event, referring to Osman I’s father-in-law and the first qadi of the Ottoman Empire.
“Keeping alive today the deep-rooted memory extending from the guild tradition of Ahilik (the tradition of craftsmen in the Ottoman era) to the Horasan saints (ancient spiritual leaders) is our greatest responsibility inherited from our past. The understanding of justice and tolerance that our ancestors brought to the lands they conquered served as a guarantee of regional peace for centuries. The small sapling planted in Söğüt grew into a mighty plane tree of civilization that took deeper and stronger roots throughout history, even when attempts were made to bring it down. It is our duty to protect the children and young people who are the guarantors of our future and who will carry this deep-rooted legacy into tomorrow from the traps of the modern age that hold minds captive and from all threats that seek to distance them from our national and spiritual values,” Gürlek added.
