TURKEY SET FOR PROMOTION IN CALIFORNIA

Hurriyet
May 5 2010
Turkey

Aiming to provide a taste of Turkey on the American west coast, five
Turkish provinces are set for promotion at the Anatolian Cultures
and Food Festival in California.

The festival, organized by the Pasifica Institute, is opening at the
Orange County Great Park, in the south of Los Angeles. Americans and
Turkish citizens living in the United States will have the opportunity
to view Anatolia’s culture, taste Anatolian food and learn more about
Istanbul, Konya, Antalya, Mardin and Van for four days.

Models of Topkapı Palace, the Maiden’s Tower, Mevlana Museum, the
ancient theater Aspendos, Mardin’s stone houses, and Akdamar Church
will be on display during the festival. There will also be 120 stands
with authentic food and goods in an area inspired by the Grand Bazaar
in Istanbul.

The festival will showcase the great civilizations that once thrived
in Anatolia, including the Trojans, Romans and Ottomans. The "Paths
of Anatolia," meanwhile, will usher visitors through a series of
14 arches dedicated to the country’s regions, with costumed models
bringing everything all to life.

Festival organizers will also screen several Turkish films, stage a
Janissary Band concert and provide a whirling dervish show. At the
same time, renowned Turkish musician Omer Faruk Tekbilek, who lives
in the U.S. will give a concert on the sidelines of the festival.

Meanwhile, Turkish and Armenian musicians, as well as a Greek sirtaki
group, will take the stage at the festival, which ends May 9.

The event is sponsored by the Los Angeles-based Pacifica Institute,
along with the California Turkish American Chamber of Commerce,
or CATA, and the Organization of Istanbul Armenians, or OIA.

Around 30,000 people, including 13,000 Turks, visited last year’s
festival.