7 Traditional Festivals in Turkey
Turkey is a famous tourist country with a long history and culture. Many historical anniversaries and traditional cultural customs constitute Turkey's legal holidays. It is also very good to travel on Turkish national holidays. What are the traditional holidays in Turkey?
1、Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is based on the movement of the moon. Islamic teachings stipulate that Muslims perform one of the five mandates of fasting during the month. Ramadan is a time of spiritual reflection, self-improvement, high devotion and worship. Muslims should work harder to follow the teachings of Islam.
Fasting starts at dawn and ends at sunset. Fast from dawn to sunset, abstain from eating, drinking, and abstaining from scandal and foul language. In addition to fulfilling religious obligations, Ramadan is also a month of blessings, a time of love and devotion, prayers and good deeds. Also, offering sweets to guests is one of the traditions of Eid al-Fitr in Turkey. Traditionally called "ekerBayram", which means Candy Festival.
2、Eid al-Adha
Eid al-Adha is one of the most important festivals in Islam. The holiday commemorates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son as evidence of loyalty and marks the end of the Hajj's pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Most Turks choose to spend this holiday with their families. Eid al-Adha has the habit of slaughtering animals, and the meat is traditionally divided into three parts—one part is eaten by the family, part is distributed to friends, family or neighbors, and the last third is donated to those in need. Another custom of this festival is to visit relatives and friends. First by visiting elders, then by visiting friends and neighbors. The second is to put on new clothes for the festival, kiss the hands of the elders, and then touch their hands to your forehead to express the holiday greetings. In addition to this, people wish each other happy holidays, which is "iyi bayramlar" in Turkish.
3、Istanbul Tulip Festival
Tulips are also an important symbol of Turkish culture, and their love for tulips can be traced back to the Ottoman Empire. According to legend, tulips originated in Turkey during the Ottoman Empire, and tulips were planted in large quantities and then introduced to Europe. The biological name of tulip in English comes from Turkish, meaning an Islamic girl wrapped in a headscarf. The image of tulip is also widely used in various ornaments and painted decoration of palaces, mosques and other buildings.
The Istanbul International Tulip Festival is an urban event hosted by the local municipality and kicks off in early April every year. At this time of year, the ancient city of Istanbul turns into a sea of flowers, with tulips blooming everywhere in parks, squares, and on both sides of the road. Between April and May every year, the entire city of Istanbul "falls" into a sea of tulips. In the city, I can only see colorful tulips and tulips, and walking into Istanbul is like walking into a sea of tulips.
4、Messer Candy Festival
Every April, in the city of Manisa in Turkey's Aegean region, Turks dressed in 14th-century Ottoman costumes celebrate the traditional Mesr Candy Festival. People took to the streets, singing and dancing, bringing the 8-day festival to a climax. The Turkish Mesr Candy Festival has a history of 470 years.
According to legend, the mother of Ottoman Sultan Selim Yavuz fell ill in Manisa, and no medicine was effective. Later an old doctor developed a messer medicine consisting of 41 herbs and spices. Sultan's mother recovered and recovered after taking it, so she ordered the medicinal paper to be wrapped and distributed to the people on the roof of the mosque, so that more people could be treated. Candy Festival.
During the Candy Festival, the shops and houses on both sides of the streets of Manisa city are hung with Turkish flags, dressed in 14th century Ottoman period costumes, take to the streets and parade to celebrate. After the parade, the organizers of the festivities distributed Messer candies to the citizens at the height of the mosque. Tens of thousands of people gathered in front of the mosque, and everyone scrambled to grab the Messer candies. The scene was warm and spectacular.
5、Camel fighting festival
Camel racing started about 200 years ago. Some caravans and nomads often let camels wrestle with each other to compete for superiority. Camel gladiators in Turkey are fought between a Bactrian camel called "Tiru". This camel is a fighting camel bred from the mating of a dromedary female of the "Yoz" species with a Bactrian male of the "Bhur" species. All camels participating in gladiatorial combat must be from the fighting camel population.
There are generally dozens or hundreds of camels participating in the competition, and they are divided into different weights like athletes. Gladiator camels generally begin to learn to fight at the age of five or six, and can fight until they are 20 years old. General camels weigh 400 to 500 kilograms, while gladiator camels can weigh 1000 to 1200 kilograms.
If the owner withdraws his camel in the middle of the way to protect his camel, it means that he will be defeated. The host reported every detail of the entire contest with the agility and cadence of a sports commentator.
6、Dance festival
The Pamukbank Dance Festival in Istanbul brings together world-renowned dance groups; also attracts world-renowned dance groups as well as the Music Festival, which has been held for 10 years; International Jazz, which brings together Turkish musicians and world jazz masters Music festival; YapiKredi Art Festival is from rock, pop to classical, jazz, performance time is scattered throughout the year, known as "annual music festival"; Fuji World Music Festival is the most important one of the above music festivals.
7、Wrestling festival
Turkish wrestling, also known as "grease wrestling" or "olive oil wrestling", is a local traditional national sports event in Turkey, which is held once a year. This sport gets its name from the fact that the contestants wear only a pair of skinny leather pants, and the whole body, including the leather pants, is covered with olive oil. The "Turkish Wrestling" competition is an ancient sports event in Turkey second only to the Olympic Games. It is held every year in Kolpena.
The criteria for determining the winner of the game is very simple. As long as one side can put the other side on the ground on both shoulders, or hold or carry the other side for three steps, it will be considered a victory. However, because the athletes on both sides are covered with olive oil, it is difficult to find a focus on the other side during the competition, and it is not easy to do this. Therefore, there is a special rule in the olive oil wrestling competition. If one party can tear or peel off the leather pants of the other party, it can also win the victory. Therefore, in the competition, athletes often tear the leather pants of the other party desperately. Participate in this wrestling competition, and the slightest carelessness will disappear.
