Festival in Kaleiçi starts
ANTALYA – Demirören News Agency
The 4th Kaleiçi Old Town Festival kicks off Oct. 10 in the southern province of Antalya, hosting a range of talks, concerts and experimental artistic works until Oct. 13.
The festival will begin at 6 p.m. with a traditional cortege led by Plancia Magna, a tribute to the native of Perge who is believed to be the first woman mayor of history, along with delegations from 48 cities from 24 countries.
Kaleiçi, which has embraced different cultures for centuries in the southern province of Antalya, is now a picturesque holiday resort.
With its rich cultural background, houses that maintain their traditional structure and narrow streets, Kaleiçi will be a scene of an array of events until Oct. 13.
This year, Ukraine is the guest of honor at the festival, which will start from the Karaalioğlu Park and continue through the Atatürk Avenue and the streets of the historic Kaleiçi.
Project coordinators Aysu Canduran and Çağlar Tuncer first worked on Plancia Magna’s outfit and made countless rehearsals for her makeup. Plancia Magna was played by Fatma Deniz, a student of Akdeniz University Tourism Faculty and performance artist. The last rehearsal was performed in Kaleiçi before the festival.
After about an hour of work, Deniz acted as the first woman mayor in history. After the completion of the make-up, she walked on the streets of Kaleiçi and arrived at the historic Üç Kapılar.
Following the traditional festival cortege, Plancia Magna will be at Üç Kapılar during the festival for three days. There will also be a memorial book at the event and Magna will be introduced to residents and tourists of the city.
Muratpaşa Mayor Ümit Uysal said that they were organizing the Kaleiçi Old Town Festival since 2016 to raise awareness toward the living ancient cities.
“We want to increase interest in ancient cities and want these cities to serve education and science,” he said.
