Festivals in Republic of Turkey
Encyclopedia
More than 100 festival
s are held in Turkey
every year. Along with festivals of local scale held in almost every city of the country, cultural events and other festivals of international reach are also organized in major metropolitan centers such as Istanbul
, Ankara
, İzmir
and Antalya
.
Istanbul is the most important center of festivals. In the summer months, a number of music festivals are held in Istanbul. Many are organized by and associated with prominent names in Turkey's private sector. The Pamukbank Dance Days brings world famous dance groups to Istanbul. The Efes Pilsen Blues Festival, which celebrated its 10th year in 2006, hosts well-known blues
and jazz
groups. The Akbank
International Jazz Festival provides the opportunity of improvisation and jam sessions between Turkish musicians and jazz masters of the world. The Yapı Kredi Art Festival with its concerts ranging from rock and roll
and pop music
to classical music
and jazz is actually a series of events around the year. Fuji
Film World Music Days is yet another important music festival.
İzmir is notable for hosting the oldest festival activity in Turkey, within the frame of multi-theme İzmir International Fair
held in the first days of September, and organized by İZFAŞ, a depending company of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality. The musical and other cultural events that take place at the same time as the commercial fair had started out as an auxiliary activity to attract popular interest for the fair, but over the years the festival became a school by itself.
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
s are held in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
every year. Along with festivals of local scale held in almost every city of the country, cultural events and other festivals of international reach are also organized in major metropolitan centers such as Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, İzmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
and Antalya
Antalya
Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...
.
Istanbul is the most important center of festivals. In the summer months, a number of music festivals are held in Istanbul. Many are organized by and associated with prominent names in Turkey's private sector. The Pamukbank Dance Days brings world famous dance groups to Istanbul. The Efes Pilsen Blues Festival, which celebrated its 10th year in 2006, hosts well-known blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
groups. The Akbank
Akbank
Akbank is Turkey-based bank and was founded in Adana, Turkey on January 1948, originally to provide financing for the cotton producers in the Çukurova region. Growing and developing over time, the Bank opened its first branch in Istanbul in the district of Sirkeci on July 14, 1950, moving its...
International Jazz Festival provides the opportunity of improvisation and jam sessions between Turkish musicians and jazz masters of the world. The Yapı Kredi Art Festival with its concerts ranging from rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
and pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
to classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
and jazz is actually a series of events around the year. Fuji
Fujifilm
is a multinational photography and imaging company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.Fujifilm's principal activities are the development, production, sale and servicing of color photographic film, digital cameras, photofinishing equipment, color paper, photofinishing chemicals, medical imaging...
Film World Music Days is yet another important music festival.
İzmir is notable for hosting the oldest festival activity in Turkey, within the frame of multi-theme İzmir International Fair
Izmir International Fair
İzmir International Fair is the oldest tradeshow in Turkey, considered the cradle of Turkey's fairs and expositions industry, and is also notable for hosting a series of simultaneous festival activities. The fair and the festival are held in the compound of İzmir's vast inner city park named...
held in the first days of September, and organized by İZFAŞ, a depending company of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality. The musical and other cultural events that take place at the same time as the commercial fair had started out as an auxiliary activity to attract popular interest for the fair, but over the years the festival became a school by itself.
| Major festivals | Turkish Festival Guide | |
| International Ankara Film Festival | 16th | |
| International Ankara Music Festival | ||
| Alanya International Culture and Art Festival Alanya International Culture and Art Festival Alanya International Culture and Art Festival, is a festival that has been organized every year since 2001 in Alanya. The last Saturday and Sunday of the month of May are festival days for the southern Mediterranean town of Alanya. 2011 festival is betwwen 28.th and 31.th of May.All aspects of the... |
11 th | |
| Gümüşlük International Classical Music Festival | 7th | |
| International Ankara Cartoon Festival | ||
| Bilkent Bilkent University İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University, commonly referred to as Bilkent University or Bilkent, is the first private, nonprofit university in Turkey with the fundamental aim of creating a center of excellence in higher education and research... International Theater Meeting (Ankara) |
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| Bilkent International Anatolia Music Festival (Ankara) | ||
| http://www.iksv.org/International Istanbul Istanbul Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and... Film Festival] |
25th | |
| International Istanbul Theater Festival | ||
| Istanbul International Music Festival Istanbul International Music Festival The Istanbul International Music Festival, formerly Istanbul Festival, is a cultural event held every June and July in Istanbul, Turkey. It offers a selection of European classical music, ballet, opera and traditional music performances with the participations of famous artists from all over the... |
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| Istanbul International Jazz Festival Istanbul International Jazz Festival The Istanbul International Jazz Festival, formerly Istanbul Festival, is a cultural event held every July in Istanbul, Turkey. It offers a selection of jazz music performances with the participations of famous artists from all over the world. The festival was first held in 1986 and is organized by... |
12th | |
| International Istanbul Biennial | ||
| Barışarock Barisarock Barışarock is an annual rock festival organized in Istanbul, Turkey.... |
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| Rock'n Coke Rock'n Coke Rock'n Coke is a Turkish rock festival sponsored by Coca-Cola. It is traditionally held at the Hezarfen Airfield in Istanbul, Turkey.- Festival :Rock'n Coke is a member of the . The festival is organized by the Turkish concert organizer... |
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| İzmir International Fair Izmir International Fair İzmir International Fair is the oldest tradeshow in Turkey, considered the cradle of Turkey's fairs and expositions industry, and is also notable for hosting a series of simultaneous festival activities. The fair and the festival are held in the compound of İzmir's vast inner city park named... |
73rd ; 1 September - 10 September | |
| İzmir European Jazz Festival Izmir European Jazz Festival The İzmir European Jazz Festival, is a cultural event held in the first half of every March in İzmir, Turkey. It offers a selection of jazz music performances with the participations of renowned artists and music groups from Europe and Turkey. The festival was first held in 1994 and is organized... |
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| İzmir Alacati International Child and Youth Theaters Festival | ||
| İzmir Fair International Folk Dances Festival | ||
| Cesme Sea Festivity and International Song Contest (İzmir) | ||
| Nasreddin Hodja Festivities (Konya Konya Konya is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. The metropolitan area in the entire Konya Province had a population of 1,036,027 as of 2010, making the city seventh most populous in Turkey.-Etymology:... ) |
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| Mevlana Memorial Celebrations (Konya) | ||
| International Pamukkale Pamukkale Pamukkale, meaning "cotton castle" in Turkish, is a natural site in Denizli Province in southwestern Turkey. The city contains hot springs and travertines, terraces of carbonate minerals left by the flowing water... Music and Culture Festival (Denizli Denizli Denizli is a growing industrial city in the Southwestern part of Turkey and the eastern end of the alluvial valley formed by the river Büyük Menderes, where the plain reaches an elevation of about a hundred meters. Denizli is located in southwestern Turkey, in the country's Aegean Region.The city... ) |
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| International Amateur Theaters Festival (Denizli) | ||
| Traditional Manisa Manisa Manisa is a large city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province.Modern Manisa is a booming center of industry and services, advantaged by its closeness to the international port city and the regional metropolitan center of İzmir and by its fertile hinterland rich in... Mesir Festival |
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| Yunus Emre Yunus Emre Yunus Emre was a Turkish poet and Sufi mystic. He has exercised immense influence on Turkish literature, from his own day until the present... Culture and Art Week (Eskişehir Eskisehir Eskişehir is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. According to the 2009 census, the population of the city is 631,905. The city is located on the banks of the Porsuk River, 792 m above sea level, where it overlooks the fertile Phrygian Valley. In the nearby... ) |
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| International Eskişehir Festival | 11th | |
| International Bursa Bursa Province Bursa Province is a province in western Turkey, along the Sea of Marmara. Its adjacent provinces are Balıkesir to the west, Kütahya to the south, Bilecik and Sakarya to the east, Kocaeli to the northeast and Yalova to the north. The province has an area of 11,043 km2 and a population of 3,187,000... Festival |
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| Adıyaman Adiyaman Adıyaman is city in southeastern Turkey, capital of the Adıyaman Province. It is one of the fastest-growing cities in Turkey... International Commagene Festival |
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| Traditional Kırkpınar Kirkpinar Kırkpınar is a Turkish oil-wrestling tournament. It is held annually, usually in late June, near Edirne, Turkey since 1346.- Description :Before each bout, the wrestlers pour olive oil over their entire bodies, and the matches take place in an open, grassy field, with the contestants naked except... Oil-Wrestling Yagli güres Oil wrestling , also called grease wrestling, is the Turkish national sport. It is so called because the wrestlers douse themselves with olive oil. It is related to the Uzbeki kurash, Tuvan khuresh and Tatar köräş... Festivities(Edirne Edirne Edirne is a city in Eastern Thrace, the northwestern part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453, before Constantinople became the empire's new capital. At present, Edirne is the capital of the Edirne... ) |
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| International Hacı Bektaş-i Veli Memorial Celebrations (Nevşehir Nevsehir Nevşehir, formerly Muşkara, , is a city and the capital district of Nevşehir Province in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. According to the 2010 census, population of the district is 117,890 of which 85,634 631 live in the city of Nevşehir... ) |
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| International Atatürk Dam Atatürk Dam The Atatürk Dam , originally the Karababa Dam, is a zoned rock-fill dam with a central core on the Euphrates River on the border of Adıyaman Province and Şanlıurfa Province in Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey... Water Sports Feast (Şanlıurfa Sanliurfa Şanlıurfa, , often simply known as Urfa in daily language , in ancient times Edessa, is a city with 482,323 inhabitants Şanlıurfa, , often simply known as Urfa in daily language (Syriac ܐܘܪܗܝ Urhoy,Armenian Ուռհա Owr'ha, Arabic الرها ar-Ruhā), in ancient times Edessa, is a city with 482,323... ) |
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| Mersin International Music Festival | ||
| Şanlıurfa International Culture and Art Week | ||
| Antalya Antalya Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :... Demre Demre Demre is a town and a district of Antalya Province on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, named after the river Demre.Demre is the Lycian town of Myra, the home of Saint Nicholas of Myra, the original Santa Claus. The district was known as Kale until it was renamed in 2005... International Noel Baba (St. Nicholas) Memorial Celebrations |
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| Aspendos Aspendos Aspendos or Aspendus was an ancient Greco-Roman city in Antalya province of Turkey. It is located northeast of central Serik.- History :... Opera and Ballet Festival (Antalya) |
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| Turkish Choral Festival | Annual - since 1996 | |
| Alanya Alanya Alanya , formerly Alaiye, is a beach resort city and a component district of Antalya Province in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey, from the city of Antalya. On the southern coast of Turkey, the district has an area of 1,598.51 km2 and 248,286 inhabitants... International Culture and Art Festival |
3-5 October | |
| Robert College Robert College Robert College of Istanbul , is one of the most selective independent private high schools in Turkey. Robert College is a co-educational, boarding school with a wooded campus on the European side of Istanbul between the two bridges on the Bosphorus, with the Arnavutköy district to the east, and... Fine Arts Festival (Istanbul) |
Organized annually since 1982 | |
| Kadirga Festival Kadirga Festival The Kadirga Festival is the most famous of all Turkish festivities. The festival takes place in one of the yayla about 25 kilometers from Tonya .... |
Annual | |
| Edirne International Kakava Festival | Annual on May 5 |