- Turul
Turul is the
mythological bird of the origin myth of theMagyars (Hungarian people).The Turul is probably a large
falcon , and the origin of the word is most likely Turkish ("togrul" or "turgul" means peregrine falcon). In Hungarian the word "sólyom" means falcon, and there are three ancient words describing different kinds of falcons: "kerecsen" (saker), "zongor" [Turkish Sungur = Gyr Falcon] (lives in the male name "Zsombor") and "turul".In the legends Turul is mentioned at least twice to shape the fate of the Hungarians: the first time "Emese", mother of Álmos had a dream where a Turul appeared, impregnated her and told her that her child was going to be the father of a great nation. The second time, the leader of the Hungarian tribes had a dream where eagles attacked their horses and a Turul came and saved them, to symbolise that they have to move, and when they did, the Turul helped them to show the way and led them finally to the land that became
Hungary .There were three Turul statues in Greater Hungary (before the country had its borders reconfigured by the
Treaty of Trianon ): one still visible on the mountain next toTatabánya , Hungary. It is the largest bird statue in the world, and the largest bronze statue in Central Europe [http://info.worldbank.org/etools/docs/library/19619/Documents%20and%20Settings/wb230542/Desktop/KECITIES/Course_Modules/4713.htm] ; the wingspan of the Turul is almost 15 meters.External links
* [http://www.hunmagyar.org/mondak/turul.html Hungarian Mythology] - The origin of the mythical bird, and its connection to the hun culture (in English)
* [http://www.arpad-tbanya.sulinet.hu/kep/turul.jpgPicture of the Turul statue in Tatabánya]
* [http://www.kiszely.hu/istvan_dr/024.html Article about the Turul in Hungarian] - Kiszely István: A magyar nép Őstörténete
* [http://tk.cjb.hu/Turulszobrok.html Turul monuments] - Collection of the turul monuments in Hungary (In Carpath-basin)
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