“Beautiful Turkestan, what has happened to you?” Erdoğan recites a poem by Cholpon (video)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on December 15 took part in the “AK Party Vision Document for the Turkic World” presentation held at the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Congress Center, where he recited an excerpt from the poem “Beautiful Turkestan” by Abdulhamid Sulaymon ugli Cholpon. The event was broadcast by Haber Global.

Emphasizing that December 15—designated by UNESCO as World Turkic Languages Family Day—is being marked for the first time at the UN level, the Turkish leader congratulated people across the Turkic world and around the globe who speak the same language, share the same dreams, and whose hearts beat as one on this occasion.

Erdoğan noted that in the 1930s, when occupation and oppression had reached unbearable levels, the brave son of Uzbekistan, Abdulhamid Sulaymon ugli Cholpon, paid for his words with his life and was later executed by firing squad. He then recited the poem that led to the poet’s tragic fate:

Beautiful Turkestan, what has happened to you?
At dawn, your flowers have withered.
Your meadows are ruined, the birds cry out,
All are sorrowful. Will there be no joy?
I do not know why birds no longer fly in your gardens.

Continuing his speech, Erdoğan recalled that the past two centuries have been marked by hardships, suffering, trials, and occupations not only for Türkiye, but for the entire Turkic world.

It is worth noting that Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is known for frequently reciting poetry in his speeches. During his state visit to Uzbekistan in 2018, he began his meeting with members of the Legislative Chamber and the Senate of the Oliy Majlis by reciting a Turkish translation of “O‘zbegim” (“My Uzbek”) by the People’s Poet of Uzbekistan and Hero of Uzbekistan, Erkin Vohidov, drawing warm applause from deputies and senators.