City to host Literary Fest

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

The third Istanbul Literary Festival will be organized between Dec. 5 and 10 with a number of different activities, including films, discussions and concerts.
The event, which is being organized by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Kültür A.Ş. and the Turkish Writers Union, will include 20 events from panel discussions to film screenings and concerts, Turkish Writers Union Istanbul Branch Director Ali Ural said, adding that 44 artists and scientists would participate in the festival.
Speaking during a press conference organized to launch the festival on Nov. 29, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Culture Director Hüseyin Öztürk said that among the 2,000 events organized annually by the municipality, 500 involved literature.
The municipality organizes events in 22 different venues in Istanbul, Öztürk said. “The number of events in the city shows that the public is hungry for culture. People are very pleased with the cultural services provided by the municipality … It is another pleasing factor that the cultural services are free of charge.”
Ural invited residents of Istanbul to the Kızlarağası Mehmed Ağa Madrasah during the festival.
Two events, the “Mehmet Akif Ersoy” and “Oğuz Atay” exhibitions, will open on Dec. 5 as part of the festival, while there will also be novel workshops organized during the festivities.