Diyarbakır Cultural Road Festival opens
DİYARBAKIR
The Diyarbakır Cultural Road Festival, the 14th event in the Turkish Cultural Road Festivals organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, officially opened on Oct. 12.
During the festival, exhibitions, music performances and concerts meet art enthusiasts in many locations, including İçkale, Dağkapı Square, Hasan Pasha Inn, Yenikapı Street, Gazi Street, Diyarbakır Archaeology Museum, Kurşunlu Mosque Square, Ulu Mosque, Hazreti Süleyman Mosque, Pasha Bath, Surp Giragos Church, Chaldean Church, Virgin Mary Church, Sheikh Mutahhar (Dört Ayaklı Minaret) Mosque, Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı Museum, Ziya Gökalp Manuscript Library, Ziya Gökalp Museum, Mesudiye Madrasa, Ahmed Arif Literature Museum Library, Caravanserai, On Gözlü Bridge and Nevruz Park.
State Theatres General Manager Tamer Karadağlı, who attended the opening of the festival on Oct. 12 at the historical İçkale Museum Complex, said that they have been in the field and visited 42 provinces and that they perform 125 new plays every year.
Stating that they also have new projects, Karadağlı said, “For the first time in the history of the State Theaters, we reached 2,2 million while it was 1.3 million last year. The Diyarbakır audience is such a special audience that their appreciation level has increased greatly over the years by watching Shakespeare, Moliere, Chekhov and also local plays. Moreover, the 20th Orhan Asena Local Plays Festival started two days ago. This year, it coincided with the Cultural Road Festival, creating a tremendous impact. The importance of the Cultural Road Festival for the people of the region is great. Because with this festival, we are also advertising art, culture and history to the world. Because the festival is unique in the world.”
Birol Güven, General Manager of Cinema, stated that they opened a special space for Palestinian cinema in every city where the Cultural Road Festival is organized.
Güven, explaining that they have a cinema truck touring the districts, said that the truck reached a total of 895,000 viewers in 61 provinces and 358 districts so far, and they will soon reach 1 million.
Tan Sağtürk, general manager of State Opera and Ballet, said that they are experiencing one of the most important times in history thanks to the audience's interest.
Noting that they reached 610,000 viewers with 1,006 performances, Sağtürk said that they achieved a 39 percent increase in performances and a 63 percent increase in the number of audiences.
“We have almost completed our program for the 2025-2026 season. New major works are coming. Local and national works are very important. We have reached very special platforms in the international arena regarding opera and ballet. We opened our map and identified provinces that are less visited. We will organize the 1st Anatolian Opera and Ballet Festival in these provinces. After organizing this festival in December, we will strive bring opera, ballet and polyphonic music to the regions of polyphonic music audiences through our six provincial directorates.”
Noting that Diyarbakır is not distant from opera, ballet and polyphonic music, Sağtürk said that they observed this especially through the Diyarbakır Cultural Road Festival.
Within the scope of the festival, the “Cultural Heritage Exhibition Through the Lens of Anadolu Agency” was opened at the Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı Museum.
The exhibition features 30 photographs by journalist Bestami Bodruk, who photographed Diyarbakır's cultural heritage in four seasons.
The “Painting Competition Exhibition,” which includes 39 works selected by the jury in the 12th Painting Competition organized by the Turkish Jockey Club (TJK) on the themes of “Horse,” “Love for Horses” and “Horse Racing,” will also be open for visitors at the Diyarbakır Archaeology Museum throughout the festival.
The festival will continue through Oct. 20.