Mrs. \u015eule Perin\u00e7ek, wife of the leader of Turkey\u2019s Vatan Party, praised the joint performance of the Iranian Instruments Ensemble of Iran\u2019s National Orchestra and the Turkish Traditional Instruments Ensemble in a note published in the Turkish newspaper Ayd\u0131nl\u0131k<\/p>\n
Roudaki Foundation: following the successful joint concert between the Iranian Instruments Ensemble of Iran\u2019s National Orchestra and the Turkish Sufi Music Ensemble in Ankara, organized to commemorate Hafez during the 2025 Cultural Year of Iran and Turkey, Mrs. \u015eule Perin\u00e7ek\u2014wife of the leader of Turkey\u2019s Vatan Party\u2014published an admiring article in Ayd\u0131nl\u0131k newspaper, highlighting the artistic excellence of Iranian performers.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Perin\u00e7ek, who attended the \u201cHafez Shirazi Memorial Concert\u201d at the Presidential Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall along with a delegation from the Vatan Party, praised the joint performance of the Iranian National Instruments Orchestra and the Turkish Sufi Music Ensemble in her note. Referring to the deep cultural and historical ties between Turkey and Iran, she wrote:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe year 2025 has been designated as the Cultural Year of Turkey and Iran. Due to the recent twelve-day war, many of the planned programs to mark this year were canceled.
\nThe ancient heritage that binds our two nations proves that these two countries (Iran and Turkey) are truly old friends.<\/p>\n
In our culture, people who are born at the same time, whose mothers gave birth simultaneously, who reach the age of forty together, or whose mothers shared their milk when one had little, are said to have their \u2018forties intertwined\u2019\u2014meaning they share a common essence and destiny.<\/p>\n
From this perspective, I must say: \u2018Turkey and Iran are the same.\u2019 We have clearly been nourished from the same milk. From our instruments to our language, our revolutions are intertwined and reinforce one another. Turkish poets have written in Persian, and famous founders in Iran\u2019s history have written in Turkish. That is why this year is of such great importance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hafez Joint Concert<\/p>\n
In another part of her article, \u015eule Perin\u00e7ek wrote about the concert:
\n\u201cOn October 14, together with a large delegation from the Vatan Party, we attended the \u2018Hafez Shirazi Memorial Concert\u2019 at the Presidential Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall in Ankara.
\nThe Iranian National Instruments Orchestra and the Turkish Sufi Music Ensemble from Konya shared the stage for this joint concert.
\nFirst, they performed separately under different conductors, and then together under one. How harmonious it was!
\nThe deep roots of the two nations\u2019 musical traditions took us back thousands of years. The connection between the instruments of both orchestras was obvious; their names may or may not be similar, but how rich and diverse they are! One must simply see it.
\nI could not count how many men and women there were, as I was deeply absorbed in listening to and enjoying the distinct melodies of each. There were so many instruments\u2014impossible to count\u2014but if you closed your eyes, you could still recognize which sound belonged to which instrument.\u201d<\/p>\n
Significant Presence of Iranian Women Artists<\/p>\n
Perin\u00e7ek also highlighted the presence of Iranian women musicians in her article:
\n\u201cI must confess, while listening to the Iranian National Instruments Orchestra, I could not take my eyes off the three female musicians:
\nMozhgan Mohammad-Hosseini (qanun), Maryam Molla (tombak), and Anahita Joz-Ramezani (tar).
\nWhat masters they are at such a young age\u2026 their confidence, their harmony\u2026 their eyes fixed on the conductor as if they were breathing life and sound into humanity itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Referring to the opening speech of Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Turkey\u2019s Minister of Culture and Tourism, who emphasized the importance of rediscovering the shared cultural heritage of Iran and Turkey, she wrote:
\n\u201c\u2018Rediscovery\u2019 is, in fact, a painful word. Can a thousand years of shared culture truly be rediscovered? Yet it is true\u2014because Western-centered cultural bombardment has sought to make us forget our roots.
\nIndeed, we know this is precisely the goal of centers affiliated with the CIA. But it is not easy to subdue nations that have emerged from this region\u2019s cultural heritage. They may isolate a few, a small minority\u2014but not the nations themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNeighborhood Music\u201d<\/p>\n
Perin\u00e7ek continued:
\n\u201cOne of my friends once told me: \u2018I don\u2019t know anything about Iranian music.\u2019 I was astonished\u2014what a neglect, isn\u2019t it?
\nBut then he added something that comforted me:
\n\u2018Since I started watching Iranian films, I can no longer enjoy Western movies.\u2019
\nThat\u2019s it. That\u2019s the point. This is what we want.\u201d
\nIn another part of her note, drawing from another passage of the Turkish Minister\u2019s remarks, she wrote:
\n\u201cDid you know that our first opera was produced at the suggestion of Mustafa Kemal Atat\u00fcrk himself, to emphasize the historical brotherhood of our two nations?”<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither the Great Satan nor the Little Satan Can Divide Us\u201d<\/p>\n
Perin\u00e7ek continued:
\n\u201cThat is why our task today is easier. Neither the \u2018Great Satan\u2019 nor the \u2018Little Satan\u2019 can divide us.
\nWe are the heroic nations of a rising Asia.<\/p>\n
At the beginning of the 20th century, there were four great empires in Asia under the target of imperialism: the Ottoman Empire, Tsarist Russia, the Persian Empire, and the Chinese Empire.
\nThese nations fought against the so-called invincible imperial powers of the time and carried out their revolutions.
\nToday, no one can stop them. We are nations with strong traditions and independent states. We will accept no masters.
\nToday again, each of us will stand firm and unite our strengths. We will create miracles in every field\u2014politics, economy, and culture.
\nTonight, on the stage of the historic Presidential Symphony Orchestra Hall in Ankara, we saw that this is not a dream.
\nThank you all\u2014may you live long and strong!\u201d
\n(From \u015eule Perin\u00e7ek\u2019s column in Ayd\u0131nl\u0131k newspaper, October 16, 2025)<\/p>\n
The Iranian Instruments Ensemble of the National Orchestra of Iran and the Turkish Traditional Instruments Ensemble performed together on the evening of Tuesday, October 14, 2025 (Mehr 22, 1404), in Ankara, Turkey. The event was held within the framework of cultural cooperation between the two countries, with the participation of the Roudaki Foundation and the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization.<\/p>\n
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Mrs. \u015eule Perin\u00e7ek, wife of the leader of Turkey\u2019s Vatan Party, praised the joint performance of the Iranian Instruments Ensemble of Iran\u2019s National Orchestra and the Turkish Traditional Instruments Ensemble in a note published in the Turkish newspaper Ayd\u0131nl\u0131k<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":30027,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[361,83,97],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-361","category-news","category-roudaki-foundation"],"yoast_head":"\n