In addition to being the first capital of the Ottoman Empire, Bursa's 700-year-old knives were showcased at the Bursa Knife Festival, which was held for the first time. It is aimed to transfer this 700-year-old heritage to future generations with the festival where knives that find their shape with fire and water in the hands of skillful masters are exhibited.
Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, which has transformed Bursa into an open-air museum with its historical and cultural heritage investments, has added a new one to its efforts to transfer the cultural heritage to future generations. The knives of Bursa, which was also the capital of ironworking at that time due to the Ottoman army's need for weapons, became world-famous at the festival organized by the Metropolitan Municipality for the first time. The opening ceremony of the 'Knife Festival' held at the Atatürk Congress and Culture Center started with the performance of the mehter team and the sword shield team. Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Alinur Aktaş, Bursa Deputy Refik Özen, AK Party Provincial President Davut Gürkan, Bursa Knifemakers Association President Fatih Adliğ, sector representatives and knife art enthusiasts attended the ceremony.
deep-rooted tradition
Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Alinur Aktaş, speaking at the opening ceremony of the festival, emphasized that Bursa has many God-given features and that knife making is a deep-rooted tradition for Bursa. Reminding that the knife has a 700-year history in Bursa, Mayor Aktaş said, “Knife making is a deep-rooted tradition brought by the Balkan immigrants after the 93 War. I would like to remind you that our city is full of traces of the cutlery culture. From the Green Tomb, where the world's first and only iron inlays are found, to the sword shield game, the world's first dance without music; The memories of this cultural heritage are hidden in every corner of Bursa, the first capital of the Ottoman Empire. We are working to preserve Bursa's cultural values and pass them on to future generations. In order to remind the glorious history of the world-famous Bursa cutlery and to regain its recognition, we have prepared a colorful festival with events such as exhibitions, competitions and fairs. Although we organized it for the first time, 89 companies participated in our festival with 107 stands. Again, we have 6 guest companies from the earthquake zone. Visitors to the festival will be able to watch the shows of the knives, get information from the experts about the art of knife making with traditional methods, and attend the workshops. In this first knife festival of Turkey, where the famous chef CZN Burak and chef Suat Durmuş, whom we know from social media, will take place, besides many exciting shows to be held on stage, our visitors will have pleasant moments with e-sports tournaments.
Knife comes to mind first
Bursa Deputy Refik Özen reminded that he spent his childhood on Cumhuriyet Street and Bıçakçılar Çarşısı and thanked Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Alinur Aktaş, who contributed to the organization of the festival. Stating that many features come to mind when Bursa is mentioned, but knife is one of them, Özen said, “We care about such organizations in terms of both developing and promoting this profession to the world and increasing its added value. Now there is a growing and producing Bursa, and a growing and producing Turkey. As the grandchildren of ancestors who challenged the world with swords in battlefields, it is important that we keep this culture alive. Gastronomy tourism is an important field in the world and in Turkey. The most important input of gastronomy is the knife. Hopefully, we will fill this area quickly as Bursa tradesmen. We are ready to give any kind of support. I also find it important that this festival is organized in Bursa for the first time in Turkey. We should take this festival to the international level in the coming years. I believe we can achieve this too. I congratulate everyone who contributed to the festival,” he said.
All about the knife
Fatih Adliğ, President of Bursa Cutlery Association, said that Bursa knife, which has a history of 700 years, gained value once in this festival. Stating that Bursa knife has been introduced to the world with the skills of masters from past to present, Adliğ said that Bursa knife has many features such as defense, kitchen, hunting and camping at the same time. Underlining that the most important feature of the Bursa knife is its sharpness, Adliğ said, “We will be able to see everything about the Bursa knife at this festival. A colorful festival will be held with competitions. I would like to thank Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Alinur Aktaş, our masters and everyone who contributed to the festival, who have done important work for the protection of cultural heritage.”
Speaking on behalf of the jury members of the knife competition, Selman Metin Annan stated that a very good festival was prepared. Wishing that the festival and the knife competition would reach their goal, Annan said that he also wanted the organization to be held for many years.
Meanwhile, the winners of the knife design competition held as part of the festival also received their awards. İrfan Çankaya, who came first in the Chef Knife Category of the competition, won 25 thousand TL, second place Elie Boudjok 15 thousand, and third place Furkan Nurullah October 10 thousand TL. Ali Şahin, who was the winner of the Hunting Knife Category of the competition, was awarded with 50 thousand TL.
President Aktaş gave plaques to the jury members of the competition in memory of the day. President Aktaş and his entourage, who opened the festival with a ribbon, then toured the stands and examined the knives closely.