Old Turkish feast Nartugan celebrated in tourism hotspot
MUĞLA
Lighting up fires and dancing around them, residents of the famous Aegean tourism hotspot Bodrum celebrated “Nartugan,” a 4,000-year-old traditional feast, on Dec. 21.
“We are happy to join together for this old tradition after two years of postponement due to the coronavirus pandemic,” said Dilek Yarar, a member of the Bodrum City Council, which organized the event.
“Nartugan,” also called “Nardugan,” is a feast that originated from the Turkish communities in Central Asia millenniums ago.
The word is derived from the Mongolian word “Nar,” which means “Sun,” and an old Turkish word, “Tuqan,” which means “Born.”
“Nartugan,” which officially means “the rebirth of the sun,” or “the rebirth of life,” is celebrated every year on Dec. 21, the winter solstice marking the longest night of the year.
Locals made small gatherings in all regions of the southwestern province of Muğla’s district, but the main official event took place in the Gündoğan neighborhood.
A symbolic statue of the “Nartugan tree of life” was erected in Gündoğan’s agora.
People wrote their wishes for the upcoming year on paper and tied them to the statue.
District’s official marching band played music and people danced around the big fire lit for Nartugan.
Also, singer Barış Kömürcüoğlu gave an open-air concert in Gündoğan.
“We know that everybody missed the Nartugan gatherings. We are happy to see that the participants enjoyed themselves a lot,” Yarar noted.
