Figure Skating Masters World Champion Naz Arıcı, nicknamed 'Golden Swan', and Masters World Third Place Elif Sırma Özel, ice skated among horse-drawn sleighs on the frozen Çıldır Lake on the borders of Kars and Ardahan. Arıcı and Özel's performance on the lake was highly appreciated. Naz Arıcı, 40, who achieved many championships in ice skating, which she started as a hobby, while going through one of the worst periods of her life as a result of losing her best friend in a traffic accident when she was 29 years old, this time went to Çıldır for Ardahan's liberation ceremonies from occupation, together with Elif Sırma Özel, who also achieved many successes. came to the district. Arıcı and Özel performed the 'liberation' dance at Çıldır Lake, 1959 meters above sea level, which is the largest freshwater and second largest lake in the Eastern Anatolia Region with an area of 123 square kilometers, whose surface is completely frozen in winter. Arıcı and Özel warmed the hearts of the audience with their magnificent performance in the lake where the air temperature dropped to 3 degrees below zero.
National athlete Naz Arıcı said that they came to Ardahan upon the invitation of Ardahan Mayor Faruk Demir and performed the liberation dance at Çıldır Lake on February 23, the day of the city's liberation, and said:
"As the grandson of Kazım Arıcı, a graduate of Cılavuz Village Institute, one of the values of Ardahan, I am very emotional to be invited to the lands of my ancestors. From the documentaries made, I went to places where my grandfather and his friends were struggling to add value to Ardahan and Turkey during and after the village institute. . I was very emotional and cried a lot. There are no words to describe what I felt. Ardahan and the people of Ardahan deserve much more value, I am glad I came. The people here follow Ataturk's path, are intellectuals, guardians of the republic and love their city very much. They are also very hospitable and affectionate. What we saw It is not possible to describe the interest and love in words. Ardahan is a city very suitable for winter sports. This city needs to be evaluated considering its geographical location. May my presence as a world champion in ice skating be a gift to Ardahan and Turkey. At an altitude of 1959 meters, within the borders I experienced the feeling of freedom that comes from dancing on ice without being stuck in a mold. "This made us think about how important it is to be free."
Elif Sırma Özel, third in the world, said: “I loved Ardahan very much. I can say I'm from here now. I should have come here sooner. I would like to thank Mr. Faruk Demir for his invitation. "It was priceless to interact with the public with the ice skating show I performed on the world's wonder, Çıldır Lake," he said.
In one part of the program, Arıcı and Özel performed with the saz played by Mayor Faruk Demir, one of the former vocal artists. Thanking Arıcı and Sırma, Mayor Demir said, "We are hosting our two world champions at the liberation ceremonies this year. They went out to Çıldır Lake, whose surface is completely covered with ice in winter, and performed. I accompanied them with saz and words for a short time."
