Turkish folklore

The 700-year-old traditional "Karagöz" shadow play, which UNESCO recorded on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009 and which constitutes the starting point of cinema with its feature of representing Turkish theater, is being carried to the future at Uludağ University.

Türkiye's tradition of olive cultivation has been officially recognized and included in UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list, according to a statement from Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.

The countdown has begun for a snow-themed festival to be held for the second time this year in Turkey's eastern province of Ağrı.

Local officials and ice sculptors stepped up their efforts for the long-awaited event, which will be launched on Feb. 25 in the city center.

Within the scope of the much-awaited fifth edition of the Istanbul Karagöz Festival that will kick off tomorrow, a famous traditional Turkish shadow theater will be staged for Istanbul residents in the upcoming week.

The festival, which will last until Nov. 21, aims to make the art of shadow play more visible and bring all the colors of this historical tradition to audiences.

Turkey on May 22 marked the 65th death anniversary of Nene Hatun, one of the iconic symbols of the Turkish women's heroism against foreign invasion.

"A Turkish child may become an orphan, but will never be without a homeland," said Nene Hatun, a heroic Turkish mother who left her newborn baby behind to fight for her country.

In an effort to bring forward the Turkish cultural values, a Turkish foundation in the Netherlands is making an effort to introduce the traditional Anatolian shadow theater, especially for children in Europe.

A Turkish master of the traditional shadow play Karagöz and Hacivat aims to preserve the art according to its origins.

Metin Özlen, 80, said he learned the shadow play at the age of four from stories his grandfather told him. He later became interested in production techniques and created his first figures from cardboard.

The Athens Shadow Theater returns to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) this summer to showcase plays from the world of Karagiozis, the main character of shadow theater plays depicting tales of traditional folklore.

The Museum for the Macedonian Struggle presents an exhibition titled "Heroic Drama in the Shadow Theater," running through June 30.

Neither Kadri Gürsel nor his freedom can be compared to a lost and found donkey, but our situation is very much like a Nasreddin Hodja joke.