Ceremony

The trend of hiring "fake marriage officers" is surging among couples whose wedding dates do not align with venue reservations but want to meet their guests' expectations by organizing symbolic wedding ceremonies.

A cortege featuring locals decked in colorful but frightening costumes has marched at ceremonies held for the 99th anniversary of the liberation of the Aegean province of Balıkesir, recalling one of the most trippy psychological warfare methods used in a war.

class='cf'>

"The inauguration itself was very dignified and completely peaceful. Considering that it took place only two weeks after the scenes of violence in the Congress, the inauguration was marked by an incomparably larger presence of representatives of practically all security forces," Djuri, who represented Serbia at the ceremony, told our portal.

Despite having made clear that he would take an executive role in the presidential palace rather than the largely ceremonial role so far cast for the head of the state, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will still have to fulfill certain ceremonial duties.