Yesterday, Tuesday 19th May, was a public holiday in Turkey, celebrating Youth & Sports Day (Gençlik ve Spor Bayramı).

In the morning at 9 am, there was a ceremony down by the Atatürk statue in town.  Following this, the celebrations continued up at the school - the Kalkan Ilköğretim Okulu.

The children performed traditional and modern dances and sang traditional Turkish songs.  Kalkan Mayor, Saim Karakurt was there to watch the performances.

This is an important day in the Turkish calendar, as it recognises the importance of the youth of Turkey, and celebrates their achievements. The examination success of two young men from Kalkan were recognised as part of the Kalkan celebrations. 

Uğur Bölükbaşı (left) and Mehmet Kaska (right), both aged 14, are pictured here with their maths teacher, Ahmet Ali Diken.  Uğur and Mehmet recently took their maths exams and achieved marks which place them in the top 14 in the country, (out of more than 15,000 students taking the exam).  Their success was formally acknowledged in front of the whole school yesterday and they each received a brand new laptop computer.

Their teacher, Ahmet Ali, has only joined the school in Kalkan this academic year, and he has worked extra hours with pupils to help them achieve excellent standards.  His work was also recognised and he was presented with a DVD player by way of a thank you.

Today, Wednesday 20th May, the two boys will go to Antalya where they will take part in another ceremony recognising excellence in achievement.  Once they have left Kalkan First School, they will go to High School in Antalya, where they have friends and family, and they then hope to continue their education at university.

For information, the headmaster of Kalkan First School, Galip Karalan, has a staff of around 31 teachers, and there are approximately 565 pupils on the register.  The school breaks up for summer holidays on Friday 12th June 2009.

Here are a few photos from the day.  KTLN members can see more in our Photo Gallery, in a new album called National Youth & Sports Day.