Northwestern town hosting singers, dancers at festival

ÇANAKKALE - Anadolu Agency

The Fire of Anatolia made the opening performance of the 50th Troia Festival, which will host Sezen Aksu (below L) and Fahir Atakoğlu (below R) in the closing ceremony. DHA Photo

The 50th International Troia Festival, an annual cultural event organized in the northwestern province of Çanakkale, opened Aug. 12 with a ceremony.

The artists and teams that will perform at the festival started marching in front of the Çanakkale Municipality. Among the participants were Çanakkale Mayor Ülgür Gökhan, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputies Ali Sarıbaş and Serdar Soydan and CHP provincial chairman Amza Karagöz, along with many citizens. The group, parading through Demircioğlu, Çarşı and Kayserili Ahmet Paşa avenues, reached the Halk Bahçesi, where the ceremony was held.

Making a speech at the ceremony, Gökhan said the festival was a window on the city for the world, a tool to become social, and gave messages of peace.

“For many years, the festival has been an opportunity to give messages of peace, because we need peace; it is the only thing that we cannot be satisfied without. Never-ending ambitions of imperial powers to create a new world order and people who lost their lives while fighting for it always postpone peace. Through various cultural and arts events at the festival, we salute peace once again in Çanakkale. I hope that conflicts in the Middle East and Africa stop. I hope that nobody will have to leave their homeland because of war and no child will sleep hungry.”

Following the speech İzzet Melih Dilmaç, Hüseyin Uluarslan, Eyüp Sabri Özkan and Sefer Göztepe, who have contributed to the festival for a half century, were given presents on stage.

Homeros Award to Çanakkale people

The Homeros Science, Culture and Arts Award, which has been given since 2002 to those who contribute to world peace, was presented to the people of Çanakkale this year. Gökhan said the people of Çanakkale had made the greatest contribution to peace, which already exists in the city, and were considered worthy of the award.

He presented the Homeros Award to a group of children representing the people of the city. Shouting “Peace is children,” the children accepted the award and were cheered by the audience at the ceremony.

The first event of the festival was a performance by Turkey’s internationally acclaimed dance troupe Fire of Anatolia in Cumhuriyet Square. The performance was viewed by thousands of Çanakkale locals.

For the five-day festival, folk dance teams from countries including Croatia, Hungary and Moldova will come to the city. The festival will also host the German Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra, which was founded in 1877. Other performers at the festival will include Grup Ezgi, Jülide Özçelik, Volkan Konak, İncesaz, Gripin, Yörem Saz Grubu and Erdal Akkaya.

The closing ceremony of the 50th Troia Festival will be held Aug. 16 at Cumhuriyet Square. Renowned Turkish artists will give a concert at the ceremony accompanied by pianist Fahir Atakoğlu.