27.12.2022
A team of 9 people from Kuveyt Türk participated in the camp, with approximately 200 scouts from all over Turkey with winter camp experience.
Kuveyt Türk, Turkey's leading participation financial institution, has taken over the official sponsorship of the “National Consciousness Camp for the Remembrance of the Martyrs of Allahuekber Mountain” organized by the Turkish Scouting Federation (TIF) in the 108th anniversary of Battle of Sarikamish. In addition to Turkey, a team of 9 people from Kuveyt Türk with scouting and mountaineering experience participated in the national consciousness camp attended by approximately 200 scouts from xxxx countries.
Fllowing in the footsteps of our soldiers after 108 years.
The scouts arrived in Erzurum on Friday, December 23, 2022 for the national consciousness camp. On the morning of Saturday, December 24, the scouts departed from Erzurum to the village of Gaziler in Şenkaya district and reached the region after a 3-hours long journey. The scouts first participated in the Commemoration Ceremony of the Martyrs of Allahuekber organized by the Governorship of Erzurum. In the program held in Gaziler village, which was used as the main headquarters of Battle of Sarikamish between December 22, 1914 and January 5, 1915, started at 12.00, the call to prayer of a soldier to the mosque minaret to declare the reconquest of the region in 1914 was repeated. Then, Erzurum Governor Okay Memiş handed over the Turkish flag to the scout leaders with a ceremony to be sent to the Martyr's Cemetery in the Allahuekber Mountains. After the ceremony, the scouts marched in a single line towards the Kaynakyayla at the Allahuekber Mountains where the camp would be set. The scouts reached Kaynakyayla with a hard 3-hour long trekking following the path followed by their military grandfathers.
The contemplation of martyrdom on snow at the Martyr's Cemetery
The scouts, who spent the night in sleeping bags in highland houses, set out for Fırıntepe Martyr's Cemetery on Sunday, December 25, where our soldiers froze to death and reached Martyr's Cemetery. The scouts, who reached the Martyr's Cemetery by walking for 2.5 hours through the snow-capped mountainous roads, sat in a circle around the Martyr's Cemetery and practiced "contemplation of the martyrdom" for 5 minutes by lying on their backs and closing their eyes on the snow. The scouts, who returned to the camp area from the same road, participated in the Mevlid and Hatim prayer program held in Kaynakyayla Mosque following the Isha prayer.
They slept in sleeping bags in tents.
The scouts, who spent the night in sleeping bags in the tent in weather conditions where the temperature was -15 Celcius, had an significant experience in understanding the difficulties experienced by the martyrs. In the morning, the scouts gathered their tents and visited Kaynakyayla Martyr's Cemetery and prayed. After the ceremony held in Kaynakyayla, the scouts returned in a single line, and after a 3-hour walk, they first reached Kaynak village and then Gaziler village. After the closing ceremony in Gaziler Village, the scouts moved to Erzurum. The scouts expressed that it is a great source of honor for them to participate in the national consciousness and memorial camp organized in the regions where our martyrs froze to death. After a total of 4 days, the scouts returned to their hometowns on Monday evening, December 26.
Kuveyt Türk is with the scouts in Çanakkale and Sarıkamış
Kuveyt Türk, which has contributed to many social responsibility projects so far for the protection, development and survival of Turkey's local and national values with its "We are growing with our values" approach, has been sponsoring the Turkish Scouting Federation since 2017. In addition to the National Consciousness Camp for the Remembrance of the Martyrs of Allahuekber Mountain, Kuveyt Türk also supports Çanakkale 57th Regiment National Consciousness Camp and participates in the camps with its employees.