My fellow citizens, dear friends,

I am grateful to be able to celebrate one of Islam’s greatest festivities, the Feast of Pilgrimage, (also known as the Feast of Sacrifices, Eid-ul Adha, or Eid-ul Hajj) that give us occasion to share our happiness, our sorrows, but most of all, show our solidarity with each other. This particular festivity marks the days we reinforce our unity, our ties of mutual respect, love and affection in the society.  In these days, we embrace each other in harmony, help each other out and celebrate the annual pilgrimage to Mecca and Madina, the two cities that host the holiest sites of Islam, where every Muslim is obliged to visit in pilgrimage at least once in their life time, if they have the health and wealth to do so.

Today, as ever, as Turkish citizens we feel privileged and fortunate to belong to our beloved motherland, Turkey.  We never forget that we are the children of a great country, citizens of a great state. Every corner of our country is more colourful than the other. Instead of merely “tolerating” our differences, we need to recognize that these are factors that enrich us more than anything else and therefore we should embrace our colours and work together for a more prosperous future.

We remember our martyrs and veterans with utmost gratitude. We always remember that we owe our present, where we live freely in a great, strong and respected country to their sacrifices.  Our veterans and families of our fallen, who made the ultimate sacrifice for our land, are our most precious charges now.

I firmly believe that this Feast, whether we enjoy it with our families or apart, we should display our solidarity, empathizing with those less fortunate than us but worth no less or more than ourselves and praise the spirit of this important occasion.