My esteemed nation, precious friends,
The great Muslim thinker Ibn Khaldun says that “Geography is destiny”,
Our 16 states, represented on our Presidential Seal, were founded on a vast geography, expanded, and became history.
In other words, the Republic of Turkey represents a state tradition of over 2.200 years.
Today, yet again on a vast geography, there are plenty of friendly and brotherly states, which we don’t see as separate from us in terms of the historical continuity, and the representatives of almost all of which are here with us.
As the Republic of Turkey and its citizens, we have put Anatolia at the heart of our destiny.
The seeds we scattered in Malazgirt over Anatolia a thousand years ago flourished right away with the Turkey Seljuk State.
The Ottoman State, which had taken over the flag of state as a young sapling, turned it into a majestic sycamore covering 3 continents and 7 climes by the conquest of Istanbul.
At the beginning of the last century, we rejuvenated, with the Republic vaccine, the sycamore that had grown old.”
“Here today, we make a promise to our nation to make our 95-year-old Republic rise with a new understanding of government.