Bosphorus, Istanbul, photo by: PANATO studio
Poland and Turkey have a long, tumultuous common history, and in its honour a broad series of collaborative events will celebrate the 600th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 90th anniversary of the Friendship and Cooperation Treaty between the two nations.
The celebration is an exceptional event in European and global diplomatic history. The history of Polish-Turkish relations dates back to 1414, four years after the battle of Grunwald, when Sultan Mehmed I Çelebi received the first Polish diplomatic mission at his court in Bursa, the capital of the Ottoman Empire. In the Polish collective memory, Turkey is a country that never recognized the partitioning of Poland.
There are several notable examples of cultural connections between the two countries. In 1842, Polish veterans of the November Uprising settled a village east of Istanbul, Polonezköy (town of the Poles). Also known as Adampol, it constituted a unique cultural and historical event. Presently the town has over 1,000 citizens, most descedents of its founders, and around four percent speak Polish fluently. The minority pays special attention to maintaining national culture. The town holds a Polish Cemetery and a museum memorializing its history, Our Lady Church from Częstochowa, to cultivate Polish religious traditions. Each summer its inhabitants organize a music festival, inviting national folk bands and various interesting guests to Adampol.
Turkey was also an important location on the life path of the famous Polish poet and writer, Adam Mickiewicz. Istanbul, the city in which he lived and died, has a museum dedicated to the author. Mickiewicz came to the Ottoman Empire in 1855 to help organize Polish and Jewish forces to fight Russia in the Crimean War. The museum now houses some of his manuscripts, historical documents and paintings.
Istanbul, Turkey, photo by: PANATO studio
For those interested in witnessing this friendship in action, there will be no shortage of Polish events in Turkey. As part of the upcoming series of events, the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra will hold a concert conducted by Tadeusz Strugała. Pieces by Polish composers Witold Lutosławski (Little Suite) and Henryk Wieniawski will be performed by soloist Agata Szymczewska (violin), who will perform together with musicians from Turkey. The event will take place on the 11th of October in Istanbul’s Aya Inri Museum.
The International Golden Orange Festival in Antalya will screen a heady film by Wojciech Słota and Leszek Gnoiński about Polish rock music in the PRL. It will be on show as part of From 1968 Till Now, a programme that includes films inspired by public demonstrations and topics related to riots and protest movements in Gezi Park. The festival is one of the major film venues in Turkey.
Galata Bridge, Istanbul, photo by: PANATO studio
Source: press materials, edited by: Marta Syrzistie, 10.10.2013