The first Meandros Festival, which celebrates the culture of the ancient city of the same name, opened June 27 in the popular Aegean resort town of Didim.
The festival takes its name from the ancient city of Meandros, which is located within the borders of Didim in the Aydın province. The municipal office in Didim is proud to organize such a festival, which aims to promote the rich cultural heritage of the ancient city of Meandros, said Didim Mayor Mümin Kamacı at the opening ceremony held in the city”s Eskiköy district.
Kamacı said the festival”s main goal is to make Didim a center for culture and the arts. “Cultural and artistic events are important for us. Our purpose is to revive the rich cultural heritage of Didim and we expect the citizens” support for that,” he said.
The festival will also host the first Didyma (an ancient name for Didim) Stone Sculpture Symposium in an effort to increase cultural tourism in the city. “We would like to contribute to the cultural life of Didim,” said Nilgün Sesalan, art director of the symposium. During the symposium, artists from different parts of the world will make sculptures in workshops organized by the festival committee and their work will remain in Didim to be displayed in its museums and art galleries. About 150 sculptors from 27 countries have applied to take part in the workshops, said Sesalan, adding that the symposium jury has found the projects of 108 artists eligible.
Among the 108 artists, five have been chosen to bring their projects to life in the workshops that will be held in Eskiköy -- or “Yoran,” as it was called in ancient times -- for a month. The artists selected are Taro Kitagawa from Japan, Gerardo Arribas Perez-Diaz from Spain, Roland Romedius Steger from Italy, Ciumacu Valeriu from Ukraine and Songül Telek from Turkey.
On the first day of the festival, a ceremony attended by visitors and locals alike opened a photo exhibit called “From Yoran to Didim.”
Resource: Turkish Daily News
