In pictures: Cudi Cup inspires hope among youth in southeastern Türkiye

Türkiye’s Sirnak is hosting its first international tennis tournament, showing a significant transformation the PKK terror-hit border province has gone through.

Türkiye's Cudi Cup is being held in Sirnak, a largely Kurdish-populated province, which borders both Iraq and Syria.

Türkiye's Cudi Cup is being held in Sirnak, a largely Kurdish-populated province, which borders both Iraq and Syria.

In the decade of 90s, it was unthinkable to host an international sporting event in Türkiye’s Sirnak province, which has been severely hit by PKK terror attacks. 

Known for its mountainous nature and closeness to both Iraqi and Syrian borders, Sirnak has changed in the past few years. A ray of hope for peace is clearly visible amongst its residents. 

And the Cudi Cup, which is being held on May 16-22 in Sirnak University's modern campus, is a telling example of Sirnak transitioning into good days, thanks to long-term efforts by the Turkish government and peace-building contributions made by the province’s largely Kurdish population as well as civil society groups. 

The international event has been organised by the Türkiye’s youth and sports ministry and its local partners from Sirnak. Here are some pictures from the event and its host city. 

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The Cudi Cup is taking place in four open courts of Sirnak University’s sports complex, which also has two additional indoor courts. Sirnak’s Mount Cudi (Judi), where Noah's ark came to its final rest according to Islamic belief, is clearly visible from behind the tennis courts.

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Sirnak’s first international tennis tournament, Cudi Cup, has witnessed intense matches like this doubles game. Among 81 participants of the event, 37 of them are girls.

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Two Turkish players, Ece Karani,13, and Leyla Urgancilar,13, who are from Istanbul’s Optimum Tennis Academy, play a doubles match with their Tunisian rivals in the Cudi Cup.

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The Tunisian team participated in Sirnak’s tennis event with 11 players, five girls and six boys under their coach Ameur Jawahdou, second left. “The organisation of this tournament is better than many other similar events in France, Germany, Serbia and Poland. Courts are good and people are so kind,” Jawahdou tells TRT World.

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“We did the impossible together,” said Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoglu, Türkiye’s energetic Youth and Sports Minister, during a speech at the official ceremony of the tennis tournament on May 17, referring to how terror-hit provinces like Sirnak have been transformed into places, where festivities and sports events like Cudi Cup can take place. He is pictured with young tennis players in Sirnak during the Cudi Cup.

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Uras Atlas Mutlu, 12, a tennis player from Ankara, the Turkish capital, is one of the competitors in the Cudi Cup. “It’s a great experience. There are so many beautiful scenes around here. I loved it so much,” Mutlu tells TRT World.

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Nearly hundred international players from the UK, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tunisia, Poland, Iran and Georgia alongside Turkish players, who are aged 14 and under, are competing in the Cudi Cup.

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