The Presidential Symphony Orchestra (CSO) will perform the world premiere of the "Gül Baba Symphonic Poetry" concert at the orchestra’s hall CSO Ada Ankara on April 1. The famous orchestra conductor Heja Domonkos and pianist Jozsef Balog from Hungary will attend the concert as guest artists.

The Gül Baba Heritage Foundation, which was established in 2017 to build a bridge between the Turkish and Hungarian communities and to increase the cultural, economic and touristic relations and activities between the two countries, has prepared a special symphonic concert for the first time.

The foundation is responsible for preserving, maintaining, utilizing and operating Gül Baba's tomb and its surroundings as an outstanding cultural value while also improving Hungarian-Turkish cultural relations by organizing professional and cultural events in both countries. The first step of the cultural activities in Turkey is being taken with the concert, which will meet the audience for the first time with an iconic performance by the CSO, one of the oldest orchestras in the world.

Following its world premiere in Turkey, the concert will also be performed in Hungary soon. It will also be performed by world-renowned conductors and orchestras.

Speaking about this special event, Gül Baba Heritage Foundation Chairperson of the Board of Trustees Adnan Polat said: "Turkey and Hungary are two friendly countries that have long-standing roots and have remained close for centuries thanks to their common histories and cultures. It is possible to find traces of works reflecting the deep-rooted history supported by common ties in both countries, which have maintained their economic, political, commercial, touristic and socio-cultural relations for many years. The Gül Baba Tomb is the most important element that supports the friendship between Turkey and Hungary, as well as cultural and commercial cooperation. By crowning this cooperation with the 'Gül Baba Symphonic Poetry' concert, we want to ensure that this spiritual heritage reaches more people through world-renowned conductors and orchestras, especially in Turkey and Hungary."

Story of Gül Baba

Gül Baba, whose real name was Cafer, was an Ottoman Bektashi dervish, poet and a companion of Sultan Suleiman I, also known as Suleiman the Magnificent. He took part in a number of Ottoman invasions of Europe from the reign of Mehmed II onward. Sultan Suleiman always stood by the Hungarians in the 1500s when Mohacs, Szigetvar and Buda were unsettled by Roman-German interventions and ordered Gül Baba to stay in Buda. Following this order, Gül Baba spent 10 years between 1531-1541 in Buda and dedicated himself to reinforcing the brotherhood, tolerance and friendship of the peoples between the two countries.

With a wooden sword in his hand and a yellow and red rose on his head, he was always called Gül Baba (Rose Father in Turkish). Gül Baba was martyred in the Siege of Buda in 1541, and Sultan Suleiman attended his funeral, which is rumored to have been attended by 200,000 people. Gül Baba is buried on a hill in Budapest, overlooking the Danube and Pest, with a beautiful view. This place was named "Gültepe" (Rose Hill), and a tomb was built here by Ottoman authorities between 1543 and 1548.

Gül Baba Tomb

The tomb and the cherished memory of Gül Baba have been preserved and kept alive as a symbol of Turkish-Hungarian friendship for centuries. It has gone through various changes and periods over the centuries. It was initially restored by Hungarian experts in 1963 after being damaged during World War II. Since then it has been designated as a museum and opened to the public.

The nearly 500-year-old Ottoman-era tomb was also restored through a Turkish-Hungarian partnership after a protocol signed in 2014. After the completion of the restoration, the renovated tomb was inaugurated in Budapest, Hungary by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2018.

Since then, Gül Baba's tomb has become one of the most important tourist attractions in Budapest. It was even crowned with two awards by the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) for its superior architectural quality and sophisticated landscape design. The fact that the tomb was deemed worthy of two awards in the same competition highlights the international importance of the restoration of the monument.