In the message, Erdoğan congratulated the citizens on Eid al-Adha and said: “We determinedly march towards our goals in a climate of confidence, stability, tranquility, and hope brought about by Turkey’s increasing strength both in its region and the world. Every new service we implement, every new work we put into use, every new project we complete, and every new investment for which we break the ground are each a step on the path to building the great and strong Turkey.”

The full text of Erdoğan’s message is as follows:

“I wholeheartedly congratulate you on Eid al-Adha. We praise our Lord who lets us observe another Eid al-Adha. We wish that these sacred days will lead to auspicious results for our nation, the Islamic world, and the entire humanity.

“All our institutions have taken necessary precautions in order for our citizens to peacefully observe the eid”

Last year, we observed Eid al-Adha with a heavy heart due to the coronavirus pandemic. This year, as a country that has curbed the pandemic to a great extent and taken steps for normalization, we observe Eid under relatively better conditions. All our institutions have taken necessary precautions in order for our citizens to peacefully observe Eid. Obviously, we are stricken with grief that we still cannot fulfill the duty of hajj which is an inseparable part of Eid al-Adha.

We hope that the days are not far when the hajj worship, which will be fulfilled in a limited manner this year, will be conducted once again with affection and enthusiasm and with the participation of millions.

We should always be careful and abide by the measures in order to completely eliminate the adversities of the scourge of pandemic, which has affected the whole world, including our country. Our biggest lines of defense against the pandemic are the measures of hygiene, mask and distancing, and vaccination.

“We hope that our domestic vaccine will be ready for administration by the year’s end”

Thanks be to Allah, compared to the world average we stand at quite a good level in vaccination. And we do not have any trouble with the vaccine supply. We hope that our domestic vaccine will be ready for administration by the year’s end. I call on all our citizens to get vaccinated within our vaccination drive which is now available for everyone over 18. Only through vaccination can Turkey differentiate itself positively from other countries and remain strong in every area with its economy, social and commercial lives, and international relations. The life of each of our citizens is valuable to us. It is still unknown whom and where this disease will attack, how it will affect and what outcomes it will cause. In that case, it is a must for us to protect ourselves against this insidious threat by obeying the measures at all times and getting vaccinated.

The progress we will make in the number of cases, patients, and deaths through vaccination are of crucial importance in terms of the health of individuals, the morale of our nation, and the goals of our country. We will continue our path in this vein until better solutions are found in the fight against the pandemic threats.

“All the means of Turkey are at the disposal of our 84 million citizens”

We have taken necessary measures in order for all the segments and all the individuals in our country to not experience any difficulty and to meet their needs during the pandemic. Since the restrictions have been lifted to a great extent with the normalization, these difficulties have largely decreased. Should there still be any citizen who has problems despite all this, we will undoubtedly continue to stand by them in the period ahead. All the means of the state of the Republic of Turkey are at the disposal of our 84 million citizens. We act with the awareness that what matters is to strengthen the real economy and make our country grow bigger through investments, production, employment, and exports. Therefore, in addition to reinforcing infrastructures of basic services, we support the sectors that are the backbones of production and trade.

We determinedly march towards our goals in a climate of confidence, stability, tranquility, and hope brought about by Turkey’s increasing strength both in its region and the world. Every new service we implement, every new work we put into use, every new project we complete, and every new investment for which we break the ground are each a step on the path to building the great and strong Turkey. I pray to my Lord that he will clear the way for our country and nation, resolve our difficulties and light up our path for the sake of the sacred days we are going through.

“I call on all our drivers to strictly abide by the traffic rules”

Like in the previous Eids, I would like to end my remarks once again by calling on all our drivers, who will set off, to strictly abide by the traffic rules, to not drive tired and to be even more careful as they near their destinations. We all should act in a more responsible manner in order for our joy of Eid to not turn into a fire in our hearts due to material losses, injuries, or even deaths. With these thoughts, I once again wish that Eid al-Adha may lead to our salvation and make the desires of our hearts come true. Eid Mubarak!” (ILKHA)