The Türkiye Culture Route Festival will take place in Trabzon with concerts, exhibitions, gastronomy events, theatre performances and children’s activities from 6th to 14th of June. The festival is organised for the fourth time in Trabzon, and its goal is to showcase the city’s impressive cultural heritage, traditional handicrafts, natural beauty and food culture. The event will cement Trabzon’s position as a cultural tourism destination, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said.

Exhibitions open up Trabzon’s cultural layers 

The exhibition program will be a tour of Trabzon‘s artistic and historical heritage. Amongst the most prominent events are the “Living Heritage Trabzon Exhibition”, the “Four Corners, One Treasure: Bundle Exhibition”, the exhibition of Islamic arts “Hane” and “Sacred Relics of the Ottoman Empire”, where precious Ottoman-era artefacts will be presented.

Living heritage takes center stage 

The festival will be a great celebration of traditional crafts and cultural knowledge. The visitors can watch short videos of craftsmen working in the fields of ceramics, Iznik tiles, kemenche and kazaziye wirework. A special talk about the knife-making tradition in Trabzon will be given, and workshops will be held on the following crafts: ebru, quilting, filigree, weaving and knife making.

Black Sea flavors in spotlight 

The “Taste Point” program, which aims to showcase Trabzon’s famous food culture, will include 39 restaurants in the region. Popular dishes that can be tasted are: hamsi, kuymak, Akcaabat meatballs, and Trabzon pide. Special events by renowned chefs will also take place at the gastronomy program.

Chekhov’s human stories come to Trabzon stage 

Anton Chekhov‘s seven stories will be adapted to the stage as “Insanciklar” in the theatre program. It is a collection of short plays that are humorous and emotional, which portray the everyday life, dreams and hardships of ordinary people.

Music will carry festival across city 

Music will occupy the main spot during the event, which will end on the 9th day, during which popular Turkish artists like Sefo, Bengü, Murat Boz and Haluk Levent will perform open-air concerts. The Trabzon Maarif Orchestra will also play at Kızlar Monastery, which is a historic monastery.

Trabzon to be captured through photography 

FotoMaraton Trabzon and FotoMaraton Children will gather photography lovers around to take photos of the historic streets of the city, its landscapes of the Black Sea, cultural monuments and its festival mood. The event will produce a visual record as well as inspire participants to look at Trabzon in new ways.

Children get their own festival route 

Children will get to play games, participate in creative workshops, listen to stories, explore heritage education and VR experiences, among others. The Children’s Village will offer interactive activities, and activities like the “Culture Guardians” program and the “Little Hands Pide Workshop” will bring young visitors to Trabzon’s culture and cuisine.