The largest Turkish event in the country, Turkish Weekend drew over 10,000 people. The festival was organized by the Australian Turkish Cultural Platform (ATCP) on Sept. 19-20, and this year coincided with the Eid al-Fitr holiday that marks the end of the month of Ramadan, which the event's coordinators said led to twice the enjoyment.The festival featured Turkish foods, folk dances and a plethora of stands featuring everything from Turkish coffee to Arabic and Ottoman calligraphy. Visitors to the festival included those of Turkish, Australian and many other diverse backgrounds. The aim of the event was to introduce Turkey and the richness of Turkish culture to the Australian public, organizers said, including Turkish art, music, cuisine, history and traditions.
The festival was opened with a speech by Turkish Consul General in Melbourne Aydın Nurhan, to an audience that included government officials and many foreign and local members of the media along with the heads of various NGOs. Australia has a large Turkish minority, which was very active in promoting the festival.
Among the most popular of the festival's acts were dances performed by folk groups, in addition to shows by a number of Turkish traditional music performers and club-style DJs. The festival also featured a Turkish gypsy belly dancer, Seda Jurin. Another high point of the festival for visitors were helicopter rides over the tulip gardens, allowing people to get a stunning aerial view of the flowers, organizers said.
