488 Cultural Life
 
Cultural Life 489  
 
   
 
 
  
  
 

Festivals

 
 
While national festivals are held virtually in every city across Turkey, international culture and arts festivals take place in megapolises such as İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir and Antalya. Most of the festivals concentrate in İstanbul.
 
A large number of music festivals are held in İstanbul and they have become an integral part of the city. Most of these festivals take place in the summertime in particular. The Efes Pilsen Blues Festival, organized during the last 17 years, hosts world-famous music groups. The festival, held in many provinces in Turkey, also organized concerts in Russia, Kazakhstan and Serbia. This festival, introducing the blues giants of the world to the Turkish audience, has become a year-long event after combining with the Efes Pilsen Blues Nights. The Akbank International Jazz Festival gathers together Turkish musicians and jazz masters of the world, and is virtually a year-long event with musical activities ranging from rock to pop and from classical music to jazz. The Yapı Kredi Art Festival and the Fuji Film World Music Days are other major sponsored music festivals which add spice and zest to the culture and arts life in İstanbul.
 

Bryan Ferry at 35th International İstanbul Music Festival
 
 
 
 
 
  In addition, the İstanbul Culture and Arts Foundation, established in 1973, organizes international film, music and jazz festivals every year. It also organizes the biennial Theater Festival in May and the prestigious İstanbul Biennial in September, October and November. On its 30th anniversary the Foundation decided to spread its activities over the whole year and launched the Filmekimi, an annual five-day event in October featuring the newest films shown in leading festivals abroad. Another novelty of the foundation has been the decision to hold an annual “Minifest”, a children’s festival aiming at popularizing culture and arts among the children. In the special project called “Rumi: Aşıkların İzinde” (Rumi: On the Way of Lover) held in 2007 by the foundation, ney (reed) player Kudsi Erguner, theatre director Maurice Béjart and scenarist Jean-Claude Carrièr will come together for the activities by UNESCO for 800th birthday Mevlana Celâleddin Rumi. Approximately 237,000 spectators saw the activities organized in 2006 by the İstanbul Art Foundation. In 2007, the Doğu-Batı Divanı Orchestra (East-West Divan) will perform in Hagia Eirene, the Leyla Gencer Şan Contest will be organized again, and the minifest, child festival, will treat small art lovers for the third time.  
 

The exhibit “Turks: A Journey of a Thousand Years, 600-1600” was organized at the Royal Academy of Art in London in 2005 along with various concerts on the sideline. On the other hand, the “Now” festival held in Stuttgart in 2005 and in Vienna in 2006 is going to be organized in Vienna in 2006, Cologne and Essen in 2007, and Paris and four cities in its vicinity in 2008.
 

As for the Turkish capital, the Sevda Cenap-And Music Foundation organizes the International Ankara Music Festival every year.

 
This festival, a constituent of the European Festivals Association, was held for the 24th time in 2007 and hosted over 10,000 famous artists so far. Although the emphasis of this festival is on classical music, ballet and jazz performances take place in addition to other assorted activities such as dance, theater, mime and electronic music.