TURKEY TO BE PROMOTED IN CALIFORNIA

Anadolu Agency (AA)
May 5, 2010 Wednesday
Turkey

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A culture and food festival will promote Turkey in
California, the United States. Five Turkish cities will be promoted in
the Anatolian Cultures and Food Festival to take place in California.

The festival, organized by the Pasifica Institute, will open at the
Orange County Great Park, in the south of Los Angeles, on Thursday.

American people and Turkish citizens living in the United States
will have the opportunity to view Anatolia’s culture, taste Anatolian
food and learn more about Turkish cities of Istanbul, Konya, Antalya,
Mardin and Van for four days.

Models of Topkapi Palace, Maiden’s Tower, Mevlana Museum, Aspendos
Ancient Theater, Mardin’s stone houses, and Akdamar Church will be
on display during the festival.

There will also be 120 stands with authentic foods and goods in an
area inspired by the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.

The festival will showcase the great civilizations that thrived
in Anatolia, dating back to the Trojans, Romans and Ottomans. The
"Paths of Anatolia" ushers visitors inside through a series of 14
arches dedicated to them, with costumed models bringing it all to life.

Several Turkish films will be screened, Janissary Band will give a
concert, whirling dervishes will perform a show, and Turkish musician
Omer Faruk Tekbilek living in the United States will give a concert
on the sidelines of the festival.

Turkish and Armenian musicians, and a Greek sirtaki group will take
stage in the festival.

The festival will end on May 9.

The Anatolian Cultures and Food Festival is sponsored by the LA-based
Pacifica Institute along with the California Turkish American Chamber
of Commerce (CATA) and the Organization of Istanbul Armenians (OIA).

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