Rector of Comrat State University Assoc. Dr. Sergei Zaharia visited our university and held a conference titled "Gagauz History" at our faculty.
Within the framework of the scientific activities of our faculty's 2024 academic activity calendar, an event called "Gagauz History" was organized by the Department of History on May 15, 2024, at the Conference Hall of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
Touching on the Turkish origin of the Gagauz people living in the Gagauzia Autonomous Region (Gagauz Yeri), in the south of Moldova today, and the impact of the Ottoman Empire on the history of the region, Assoc. Dr. Sergey Zaharia mentioned that relations with Aksaray University can be improved by increasing bilateral agreements. In his speech, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sergei Zaharia, also explained the establishment and development processes of Comrat State University, which celebrates its 33rd anniversary this year, and stated that they want to increase scientific cooperation with universities in the Turkic world, especially in Türkiye.
“Türkiye is our blood brother”
Continuing his words by emphasizing: "Terkiye is our blood brother", Mr. Zaharia stated that they have cooperated with Türkiye in many social and cultural fields, especially in the last 30 years, and underlined that Türkiye has made a great contribution to the Gagauz Turks in protecting and keeping their traditions and customs alive by protecting their native language. .
Assoc. Dr. Zaharia continued his words as follows:
“Türkiye is our blood brother. Gagauz Turks received a lot of social, cultural and economic support from Türkiye. We received a lot of help from our Turkish brothers. Türkiye has undertaken major projects here, so we are very grateful to Türkiye. I believe that Türkiye will not leave us alone from now on and that we, as Gagauz Turks, will create a bridge between Moldova and Türkiye. "Türkiye opened the Aziz Sancar Diagnosis and Treatment Center, which was built and provided with medical equipment by TİKA within the Comrat Regional Hospital in Gagauz Autonomous Region, built a nursery, opened the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Education Complex and made many other investments."
“Whatever language you dream in is your mother tongue.”
Answering the questions at the end of his speech, Mr. Assoc. Dr. Zaharia continued his words by stating that he has been speaking languages such as Romanian and Russian since his childhood, but his mother tongue is undoubtedly Gagauz:
“Whatever language you dream in is your mother tongue. I dream in Gagauz. I grew up with my mother's Gagauz lullabies in the cradle and my grandmother's tales in Gagavuz language. I believe that as long as we have mothers who tell stories and lullabies to their children in their mother tongue, our language will remain eternal.”
Drawing attention to Türkiye's assistance in the process of Gagauzia becoming an autonomous republic, Mr. Zaharia talked about the great support given by our 9th President, Mr. Süleyman DEMİREL, during and after the establishment of Gagauzia, and his memories with him in the 1990s. Expressing that Gagauz people remember Süleyman Demirel as "Bahalı Baba" (meaning precious father), Mr. Zaharia said that Gagauz Turks have great respect and respect for Süleyman Demirel and that they always remember him with good memories.
Historically, since the Huns, Avars, Danube Bulgars, Pechenegs, Cuman-Kipchaks and Oghuz tribes, Turks have been living in this area for centuries, keeping the north and west of the Black Sea as their homeland. Opinions about the origin of the Gagauz people are also shaped around the view that they are the descendants of these Turkish peoples. It is estimated that around 500,000 Gagauz Turks live worldwide, mostly in the Autonomous Republic of Gagauzia, which is affiliated with Moldova. Gagauz Turks, living outside Gagauzia in countries such as Türkiye, Russia, Ukraine, the United States and Germany, take their culture and language with them wherever they go.
We would like to thank Moldova Comrat State University Rector Assoc. Dr. Sergei Zaharia for the valuable information he provided at the event. We would also like to thank the dean of our faculty, Prof. Dr. Talat BARAN, our vice deans Prof. Dr. Ayhan ERCİYES and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdulmuttalip İPEK. We would also like to thank the faculty members and students for participating in the program.
