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New York’s biggest Turkish festival starts in Grand Central
During the one-week festival, New Yorkers will have the opportunity to try out various Turkish treats and delicacies, from Turkish coffee to lokum, a candy known as Turkish delight in the West. A street market and a Turkish film festival are also being organized as part of the event. Zafer Akın, head of the Turkish Cultural Center's (TCC) New York branch says: “We believe that the festival will be much more energetic this year. The interest shown in the festival today is the most obvious indicator. Last year, we reached about 200,000 New Yorkers. This year, we plan to reach 500,000 people.”
Vanderbilt, one of the main halls at Grand Central Station, has been redesigned for the festival. The terminal now has a completely different ambiance with two giant two-dimensional photographs of İstanbul’s Yeni Cami mosque. Stands introducing traditional arts and crafts have been set up, with ushers in various styles of clothing symbolizing the many civilizations that were established in Anatolia. Many passer-bys had their pictures taken with ushers dressed as Ottoman sultans and janissaries on the first day.
Similar to last year, festival goers can enjoy various folk dances from different regions of Turkey and listen to mini-concerts featuring Turkish folk songs. The TCC said the Grand Central event is the most important leg of Turkish Days in New York.
“Last the year, the festival activities here at Grand Central attracted much attention. The interest was so great that station officials requested that we use the hall for one more day. This year, the activities here will go on for two days because we think this is a great opportunity to promote our country,” said Akın.
There are 16 tents with İznik tile patterns that showcase traditional arts such as calligraphy, ebru (marbling), traditional puppet shows known as Karagöz, meerschaum carving and the making of traditional clogs. One the festival’s biggest hits last year was the sema -- popularly know as the whirling dervish -- ritual.
 Vanderbilt, one of the main halls at Grand Central Station, has been redesigned for the festival. Actors dressed as Ottoman sultans distributed information to visitors about Turkey and Turkish history. |
Dana Fox, a New Yorker, said she found out about the Turkish festival while passing through the Grand Central, and added: “I was in Turkey 10 years ago. It was a fun vacation and all this brings back memories. I’d love to go again if there are cheap tickets.”
The seven-day festival, which started yesterday in Grand Central Station, ends on Sept. 22 with a Turkish film festival at the New York Film Academy. Akın explains that their target this year is to have each part of the festival in different parts of the city. He notes that the street market based on the model of İstanbul’s Grand Bazaar on 41st street is taking place in the same place as last year. Akın is confident that the festival events will attract more visitors this year than the previous year.
Many of the products on display from different provinces of Turkey are also available for sale during the festival. More details about Turkish Days in New York can be found at http://www.turkishdaysinny.org.
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