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Masguda Shamsutdinova, a well-known Tatar composer living in Seattle, was the ATTA's honored guest on December 10-11. She was greeted by over 30 members in our Bina on Saturday evening where her exhilarating presentation mesmerized the audience. She noted that Tatar people know what suffering is, and Tatar music conveys this suffering and touches the soul. However, Masguda's vocal rendition of many traditional lullabies and Munajats was so powerful that many in the audience were moved to tears.
Her visit to Tatar Sunday school on December 11 was a pleasant surprise to the students. They thoroughly enjoyed being with her and it was a special treat when she took charge and played the "flew away" game with them. These students will never forget meeting and having lunch with the great Tatar composer.
Thank you Masguda for being with us and hope to have you visit with us again in the near future.
We celebrated Korban Bayram (Eid-ul-Adha) on Sunday, November 6, with prayers beginning at 8:30 AM at the Bina. The Bayram Dinner was held at 5:00 PM at the Bina. Prior to dinner, Imam Abduldeyyan Safa read prayers from the Quran and attendees stood and recited the Salawat. The ATTA-provided dinner included pilaf with korban beef, meatless pilaf, lamb, grilled chicken and salad, and was prepared and served by Board members and other volunteers. The ATTA's monetary gift to the children was supplemented by half a dozen families and was divided equally and given to all young ones there.
Over 90 people attended the dinner, and many paid compliments on not just the food but also the arrangement and organization of the event. On behalf of ATTA, we wish to thank all of the volunteers involved in preparing and serving the dinner and the members who either brought sweets or made monetary contributions. Special thanks go to Adile Safa and Turan Apakay for washing the headstones at Cypress Lawn the day before Bayram.
Following the Singapore meetings on economics, President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov arrived in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, on Tuesday, September 27, 2011. There he met with Premier of the State, Hon. Mike Rann and discussed issues ranging from economics to farming and tourism. A two hour reception in the evening was reserved for Adelaide Tatars.
Tatar community knew the arrival of President a month in advance and the President of Tatar Association in South Australia, Mr. Rustam Sadri, worked very hard to arrange a meeting. Tatar community was well prepared for this occasion and the meeting was very elaborate. President Minnikhanov was greeted with songs, dances and chak-chak and he was quite impressed with the strength of Tatar community and the children speaking in their mother tongue.
This gathering at the Intercontinental Hotel was organized jointly by South Australian Treasurer (and a member of the state parliament) Mr. Jack Snelling and the Minister of Multicultural Affairs and Reconciliation (and a member of the state parliament) Ms. Grace Portolesi. Tatar community thanked them from the bottom of their hearts.
ATTA community members celebrated the month of Ramazan by fasting, organizing and attending iftar dinners and performing Teravih prayers. The month of fasting was concluded on July 29th followed by Ramazan or Eid-ul-Fitr Bayram prayers on the morning of July 30th. More than 80 people gathered for the Bayram celebrations in the evening at the Bina. Imam Abduldeyyan Safa thanked Ibrahim Feyzullahoglu and Turan Apakay for performing the duties of muezzin throughout the month as well as those attending Teravih prayers. Following Imam`s prayers from Quran all of the participants rose and recited the "Salawat" in one voice.
ATTA provided the dinner for the evening while many of the participants brought home-baked traditional Tatar sweets. Everyone had a pleasant time and expressed their appreciation for a well orchestrated event. On behalf of ATTA we thank Board members Rukiye Safa, Saadet Sezgen, Aynur Devletsah, Ravile Serefiddin and Dina Younes and the ATTA member Sadiye Feyzullahoglu for preparing the tasty dishes. In addition, we thank all of the other volunteers (too many to be named) who not only served dinner and refreshments but also went into kitchen to clean up.
A very entertaining Karaoke Party was held on Saturday, March 19 with about 50 people in attendance. Many solo and group singers bravely took the stage and gave memorable performances. To coincide with St. Patrick's Day, the evening had an Irish theme, including delicious Irish corned beef with cabbage for dinner. This fun event was also a fundraiser which yielded a net profit of about 600 dollars for the General Fund. Thank you very much to Ravile Serefiddin and her team, who planned, prepared and executed an evening to remember.
An interesting function was held on December 4th at the Bina with about 35 adults and 11 children. This function was hosted by the parents of Tatar Sunday School students and consisted of three parts. The first part of the program started at 2:00 p.m. and consisted of students putting on a play called "Kabartma Malay" and reciting poetry on seasons of the year. Then, the guests were served with traditional Tatar sweets and tea. After the refreshments, guests decided to watch a video instead of playing bingo. Tatar National Dance and Song Ensemble's video was not just dances and songs but also presented a special Broadway-type musical show named "Mohacir." This musical cleverly told the history of Tatars emigrating to Turkey to find freedom and better life after the fall of Kazan Khanate.
Rustam Minnihanov, President of Tatarstan, came to California on November 18th to be acquainted with Silicon Valley technology firms and to meet with the administrators of two universities (Stanford and the University of California) with advanced technology programs. On the 20th he met with the American Tatar Association officers and the Tatar businessmen. During this meeting President Minnihanov gave us a congratulatory award. The content of this award is summarized as follows: "Please accept my words of appreciation for maintaining and attempting to advance wealth of moral-ethical and civilized values of Tatar peoples. I sincerely wish you health, prosperity and success in your endeavor." In addition, he presented us with a Tatar Karaoke-DVD player.
Korban Bayram was celebrated on November 16 at the Bina with over 75 people in attendance for an evening dinner hosted by the ATTA. Visiting guests included Ms. Raushan Akhmedyarova, principal violinist with SF Symphony, and Dr. Airat Shigapov and family from Kazan. Many thanks to Filiz Kohli and Diana Kudeki for heading the committee effort in organizing a wonderful event with delicious Tatar food for all to enjoy!
On the Sunday before Bayram, members of the ATTA Youth Group once again gathered at Cypress Lawn cemetery to clean gravesites and wash the headstones of our deceased members. On the morning of November 16, Bayram prayers were held at the Bina and led by our Imam Abduldeyyan Safa.
Dr. Rauza Yaus-Veli came from Turkey for a week long stay to attend a conference. Her writings were published in a serial form in a newspaper and later published as a book. On November 11th she attended song group session and sang two beautiful Chinese songs. Dr. Rauza identified several pages from her book on headaches and breathing and illustrated pressure points on the body.
On the evening of September 10th more than 100 people got together to celebrate Ramazan Bayram. Our Board hosted the event and the dinner, consisting of meat pie, pilaw and salad, was prepared and served by the members of our Youth Group. Going from one table to another serving tea with cak-cak and brownies, they chatted and showed their respect. The members of our Youth Group gained admiration and appreciation of our guests. Two pictures from Bayram are enclosed.
ATTA was founded by Turkic Tatar immigrants arriving in Burlingame, CA from various parts of the world including China, Korea, Japan and Turkey in 1960. To celebrate the 50th anniversary an optional black-tie dinner-dance event was held on March 13, 2010 at the Marriott Hotel. Close to two hundred people attended the 50th Anniversary celebration, some coming from as far as Finland and Russia. This event began began with a reception at 6:00 P.M., background music being provided by the Pacifica Quartet. Following the opening remarks by the ATTA President Ms. Rukiye Mansur and a three-course dinner, live entertainment began at 9:00 P.M. Besides the performance by guest artists Leysen and Iltuzer Mohammadgali from Tatarstan, traditional Tatar songs were presented by our own "Ay Bilbilim" song group. Guests danced until midnight and a lucky attendee won the first prize, two rountrip tickets to Turkiye, donated by Turkish Airlines.