Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy stated that Kayseri has an important place in the historical and cultural heritage of Anatolia and said, "Kayseri is one of the most special cities of Anatolia with its thousands of years of history, its historical heritage extending from the Seljuks to the Ottomans, and its deep-rooted culture that is still kept alive today. This ancient city, shaped at the foothills of Erciyes, has been one of the important centers of trade, production, culture and art throughout history. We also preserve this great heritage we have." "We care about passing it on to future generations and making it more visible through culture and art events." he said.
Minister Ersoy emphasized that the Turkey Culture Road Festival will be held for the second time in Kayseri and said, "We are meeting art lovers again with a much more comprehensive program in Kayseri, where we experienced the festival excitement for the first time last year. We are bringing the historical places, squares and culture-art areas of our city to the center of life again through the festival. We aim to further increase its visibility both in our country and internationally by bringing together Kayseri's strong historical background, cultural values and natural beauties with the universal language of art." he said.
Pointing out that Kayseri is one of Turkey's prominent cities in the field of gastronomy, Minister Ersoy stated that the city's culinary culture, passed down through generations, will have an important place in the festival program. Ersoy stated that the gastronomy heritage, ranging from geographically indicated products to traditional recipes, will be presented to visitors within the scope of the festival, and the culinary values, which are an important part of Kayseri's cultural identity, will be introduced to a wider audience.
KAYSERİ'S GASTRONOMICAL RICHNESS IS AT THE FESTIVAL
The gastronomy program of the Kayseri Culture Road Festival will be hosted by gastronomy writer, researcher and food culture producer İdil Açıkalın. Chef Ahmet Gündoğar, chef Hilal Kayış Sungur, gastronomy writer Faruk Şüyün and gastronomy writer Reha Tartıcı will appear as guests. Guests will visit Taste Points and experience Kayseri's unique dishes on site.
Kayseri cuisine, which developed on the important trade routes of Central Anatolia, reflects a deep-rooted gastronomy culture with its meat processing tradition and pastry diversity. In the urban cuisine, methods of drying, seasoning and preparing long-lasting products have an important place; Pastrami and sausage are among the prominent flavors of the meat processing culture that has been maintained for centuries. Kayseri ravioli, in which small pieces of dough are filled with minced meat and served with yoghurt and butter sauce, and lubrication, in which thinly rolled dough is put together in layers with minced meat mixture, are among the symbolic tastes of the city's table culture.
The gastronomic richness of Kayseri will be presented to visitors at 34 Taste Points determined in the districts of Melikgazi, Kocasinan, Talas, İncesu, Develi, Bünyan and Hacılar within the scope of the festival. The selection ranges from traditional tradesman restaurants to modern restaurants, from bakeries and pastry shops to farms, coffee, confectionery and pickle shops; In addition to the city's prominent flavors such as Kayseri ravioli, yalama, pöç, oven mouth, develi cıvıklısı, pastrami, nevzine, gilaburu, kelle paça and stuffed kete, Circassian cuisine and local breakfast products will also be featured. Nevzine, prepared with tahini, walnuts and sherbet, will bring Kayseri's deep-rooted dessert tradition to the gastronomy route.
FESTIVAL EVENINGS WILL BE COLORED WITH MUSIC IN KAYSERİ
Festival evenings in Kayseri will be enlivened with concerts of Turkey's popular artists. Within the scope of the nine-day concert program, Mert Demir, Ceza, Ahmet Şafak, Buray, Özcan Deniz, Oğuzhan Koç, Kıraç, Murat Boz and Sefo will meet with music lovers from Kayseri.
The festival program will include different music and stage shows as well as famous artists. Naval Forces Band Command will perform works from different musical genres with band arrangements at Kayseri Cultural Center. In the Caucasian Wind program, the dance culture and high energy of the Caucasus geography will be brought to the stage under the direction of Conductor Soner Satı. While Love Square brings together music and poetry in the same program, Erkut Özkan and Muhlis Berberoğlu will interpret Neşet Ertaş's memorable works at the "Respect for the Steppe: Folk Songs of Neşet Ertaş" concert to be held on the last day of the festival.
CULTURE AND ART IN KAYSERİ WILL COVER THE CITY FOR NINE DAYS
As part of the festival, "Sacred Relics of the Ottoman Empire", "Living Heritage: Kayseri" and "House" exhibitions will be presented to visitors at the Kayseri Kaleiçi Archeology Museum. The Ottoman Sacred Relics Exhibition will bring together 37 works selected from different museums and collections on the 509th anniversary of Yavuz Sultan Selim bringing the sacred relics to Istanbul. The exhibition will include a wide selection from Kaaba covers to the Holy Quran, from Sakal-ı Şerif to works related to Surre-i Humayun.
Living Heritage: Kayseri Exhibition will make visible traditional arts and crafts ranging from marbling and calligraphy to rug weaving, from rag doll making to stonemasonry, from mother-of-pearl inlay to instrument and woodblock printing. The exhibition "Distinguished Manuscripts from Raşit Efendi Manuscript Library", which will be opened at the Museum of National Struggle, will bring together with visitors the manuscripts and rare printed copies that have survived from the Seljuk and Principalities periods.
In the "Carrying Memory of Culture: Saddlebag" exhibition to be held in Sanat Melikgazi, 80 pieces, aged between 70 and 120, from different regions of Anatolia will be exhibited. Different examples of Anatolian weaving culture will be presented to visitors through saddlebags prepared with carpet, cicim and sumac techniques.
In the theater program of the festival, "Keşanlı Ali Epic", written by Haldun Taner and directed by Boğaçhan Sözmen, will meet theater lovers with two performances at the Kayseri State Theater Stage. Children will participate in the colorful world of the festival with productions such as "Elsa Children's Musical", "Bremen Town Musicians", "Karagöz's Ballad" and "Where is Elsa: Detective Olaf is in Search of Adventure".
Wood printing, marbling, rosary, leather, naht, rag doll, katana, dorak stone, rug weaving, calligraphy and wood carving workshops, which will be held at the Kayseri Kaleiçi Archeology Museum throughout the festival, will bring traditional arts and crafts to the participants, accompanied by masters.
In the Living Heritage Talk: Yahyalı Carpets program, the production techniques of the geographically registered Yahyalı carpets, which have a history of approximately 250 years, natural root dyes, symbolic meanings of the motifs and the weaving tradition maintained by the master-apprentice relationship will be discussed.
THE FESTIVAL IN KAYSERİ IS FULL OF FULL FOR CHILDREN TOO
The Children's Village, which will be established in the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan National Garden Children's Village, will host children throughout the festival with activities that bring together fun, creativity and learning. Inflatable playgrounds, digital playgrounds, creative workshops, traditional competitions, Karagöz Workshop and virtual reality experiences will offer children different activity options.
Within the scope of EthnoTır, experience stations will be established in areas such as archery, mas wrestling and mangala, while marbling and linden printing workshops will introduce children to traditional arts. ASELSAN Children's Festival will bring science and technology to children with fun content with the Techno Adventure Truck, interactive technology areas, Inventors Museum, augmented reality applications and Science Show.
Photography enthusiasts will also record the historical, cultural and architectural values of the city through their own lenses with the FotoMaraton Kayseri and FotoMaraton Kids events, which will be held on the opening day of the festival. "Be a Part of Your Own Fairytale!", "Hooray! Street Games / Break from Digital, Hello to the Street" and "Tell Me a Story, Teacher / One Tale, Thousand Dreams" events for children will also be among the contents of the festival program that appeal to different age groups.
Kayseri Culture Road Festival will bring together the historical and cultural richness of Kayseri with art for nine days, with hundreds of programs ranging from concerts to exhibitions, theater to talks, traditional art workshops to children's activities, gastronomy to photography activities, between 5-13 September.
