Five days of festivities planned in London’s Clissold Park next weekend
The 11th annual Anatolian Culture Festival gets underway this weekend with five days of festivities in the community and in North London’s Clissold Park.
The festival has made a name for itself as an environment where traditional Turkish values could be conveyed to younger generations. Theatre, picnics and music all dominate the proceedings.
Events began on Thursday with visits to local schools to tell them about Anatolian culture
Organisers have said the festival had been held for eight consecutive years with this in mind and thanks all private and official organisations for their support.
The big event will be on Saturday 13 May, when dignitaries and local politicians will attend. It will run until 15 May.
The widely-attended festivities particularly attract interest from local schools and have seen as many as 35 stalls erected. They offer a range of different samples of Anatolian culture, many popular with families. The food on offer was wide and varied, including lamb shish, doner and tantuni kebabs, alongside more traditional Anatolian home cooking.
Also on display were some fine examples of handiwork, painting and calligraphy.
Kırkpınar wrestlers Fatih Sultan Mehmet Alabacak, Hakkı Ceylan, İsmet Karabulut and Kemal Kurt have attended in previous years, with Fatih Sultan Mehmet Alabacak becoming London victor.
Alongside a traditional Bursa Mehter musical march performance, the visiting children have in previous years had the opportunity to watch Nasreddin Hodja and Ibish sketches, as well as the a shadow puppet Karagöz-Hacivat show.
Perhaps the most interest of all was generated by the olive oil wrestling tournament, in which professional wrestlers from the Turkish Wrestling Federation competed, although it is not clear yet if this will be repeated this year.
