ECE-İPEK-EMİNE-TANSU-2

İNEGÖL/BURSA
====I am from İnegöl/Bursa. My hometown consists of people from different origins as well as Turkish people because of its natural beauty and industry which is famous for its furniture. For example, my ancestors are from Georgia(Gürcistan) and my mother’s ancestors are from Abkhazia. Also, I have friends in my hometown who are Bosnian, Albanian and Bulgarian.==== ====Since there are so many people from different origins living in İnegöl, since 2006, the municipality of İnegöl has been organizing cultural festivals in its amfiteatr in Kültürpark. There are many groups joining to these festivals not only from Caucasus or Balkans where most of the dwellers of İnegöl come from, but also from Africa, Ukrain, Russia, Greece and Costa Rica.====

====Since 2010, the municipality decided to hold these festivals in contest forms, so the groups will compete with each other and the jury whose members are from all of the competing groups provided that they do not vote for their own group will vote for them and declare the winner.====

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====However, the winner of both of these two years was Georgia so a romuor came out that jury was cheating and the major of İnegöl Alinur Aktaş does this deceit whose origin is Georgian. I can’t comment on it because I don’t know the back side of this contest, no one could know but it’s not nice to create a scandal. This contest is one of the unique organizations in Turkey so we should enjoy it instead of turning it to a nightmare.====

====To summarize, such festivals enable us to have a chance to come together and enjoy. Being united, we should join these festivals to enjoy not to make holigan gruops supporting their dance group in the tribunes and fight with each other as if we are in a football match J ====

= NAZİLLİ / AYDIN = = CULTURE AND DANCE OF **ZEYBEK / EFE** =

= I'm from Nazilli / Aydın, so I want to mention about culture and dance of zeybek which are the symbols of the Aegean region.Efe/zeybek culture and zeybek dance are popular in other regions as well as Aegean.Other countries are also interest in this culture and dance. =

= Meaning of efe/zeybek is brave,courageous. It is seen as banditry by somebody, but it is not banditry, it is heroism dating back independence war because efe(ler) fought for our independency. =

= Zeybek is a kind of dance that tells us some stories,events,feelings or thoughts like dramma.There are some meanings of zeybek movements. It is played in a rigorous and courageous manner because it inspired of movements of eagles and hawks.Zeybek represents a bold man who protects his public. =

= It can be divided into two groups as slow (ağır) and fast (hızlı,yürük) zeybek. While women generally play fast zeybek, men play slow zeybek. Zeybek can be played by both only one efe and a few efe(s).The most important characteristic of zeybek is that it can be played freely,independently;however, rhythm and music are same. =

= Efe clothes are also very elegant, original. There are a lot of components of these clothes such as shalwar,belt,bolero (cepken),fez (fes), boot, arms rack (silahlık) and socks. It is very interesting that all these pieces are handmade. =

= As an Aydın girl who plays zeybek for years, I advised people to learn and play zeybek because it is very enjoyable and at the same time zeybek is an arrogant and serious play. =

==== Trabzon is the most important and largest port on The Black Sea in Turkey.It is the starting point of the Iranian transit route and has connections with the ports of other countries with shores on The Black Sea. ====

==== The most important structure in Trabzon is The Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya) Museum.The church, which is used as a museum, was constructed in the thirteenth century.The decorations at the entrance are remaining from the Seljuks, and the interior sections of the museum are decorated with various frescoes. ====

==== The Gulbahar Hatun Mosque is the most beautiful mosque in the city.The Hatip and Iskender Pasha Mosques, from the sixteenth century, are among the other mosques in the city worth seeing.The old streets of Trabzon give the city a completely different picturesque appearance.The historical houses in the back streets are worth seeing.The Girls’ Monastery (Kızlar Manastırı), remaining from The Comnenian Period in the fourteenth century and The Irene Tower are among the places frequented by tourists. ====

==== The Altındere National Park is near Macka to the South of Trabzon.The magnificient Sumela Monastery, which is almost higher than the clouds, is in this national park.The Monastery, perched on the facade of a cliff, at a height of 270 meters, assumed its most magnificient form during the period of The Comnene King Alexis III. The crowningceremony of Alexis III was held here in the fourteenth century library, church, rooms of the priests, chapel, sacred water spring and kitchen are inside the monastery. There are very beautiful high plateaus in the environs of Trabzon. These are the Erikbeli, Hidirnebi, Solma, Kirazli and Kadirga high plateaus. The famous Kadirga Festival is held every year in the spring at the Kadirga High Plateau. Hamsikoy, which is a famous mountain village to the south of Trabzon, is known for its delicious food, along with its natural beauties. The Zigana Tunnel, which is the longest highway tunnel in Turkey, is to the south of Hamsikoy. The Zigana Ski Center, on the old Zigana Mountain road on the upper sections of the tunnel, is interesting for ski lovers with its modern facilities. The silver market in the city is also famous. The famous interwoven gold and silver bracelets of Trabzon are sold here. ====

==== The park is in the Caykara district, 25km from Trabzon and 19km from Caykara. The park can be reached via the 10 state highway from Trabzon, then from Caykara for another 19km. Uzungöl (English: Long lake) is lake situated to the south of the city of Trabzon in Turkey. Over the years it has become a major tourist attraction. It is also the name of a nearby village.The lake is at a distance of 99 km from Trabzon and 19 km from Çaykara district. It was formed by landslide making the stream bed to become a natural dam in the valley of Haldizen Stream The area is most famous for its natural beauty. Located in a valley between high rising mountains, the lake and village at first appear inaccessible. The surrounding greenery of the mountain forests and fog, occasionally enveloping the lake at night, also add to the scenery.In recent years a major tourist boom has attracted a number of hotels, restaurants and gift and souvenir shops to be built in the area. The transport infrastructure has also been greatly improved. Recently the government proposed to build a wall around the water with cement fortification, destroying the shores of the lake, so that water from waves on the lake would not wet the nearby roads around it. This has been met with a lot of protest from locals as well as ecologists concerned with the environmental damage, stating that this move would turn the lake into a giant artificial pool.Highlights: The 1625 hectares of the park were designated as a Nature Park in 1989 because of the rich plant life, wildlife and sightseeing potential. The dominant tree species is Eastern spruce, and there are also badger, bearded, alder, horn-beam, hazelnut, oak, mountain elm and silver birch trees. Species of animals include mountain goat, roe deer, bear, wolf, wild boar, marten, badger, lynx, jackal, fox, rabbit, squirrel, wild ducks, birds of prey, trout and various kinds of reptiles. The most important river in the area is the Demirkapi, and the Uzungol Lake was formed as a result of the rocks closing the mouth of the river. 10km south of the lake is the Norizca mountain, with an altitude of 300m. The best time to visit the park is between April and October. ====

EMİNE YİĞİT
** A CULTURAL EVENT OF BALIKESİR **

When someone mentions about the cultural events in Balıkesir, firstly I say “The Kuvay-i Milliye Festivals.” It dates back to a really old time, 1930s we can describe as after war years. Balıkesir was a city which experiences the war times very sadly so it needed a good celebrations after the war. Therefore, it improved The Kuvay-i Milliye Festivals. Every country of Balıkesir are present in these festivals. They perform their traditionals dances, do their delicious and interesting meals. They show their hand made things and you can buy them by paying only a little money. Moreover in these festivals important factories in Balıkesir open stands and distribute their products freely. Everybody has a really enjoyable times. They listen to qualified and traditional musics, eat health and delicious foods. Furthermore, in these festivals there are very enjoyable concerts famous singer come. These festivals are cultural events of Balıkesir. They keep together people for many years. While doing this, it provides people to be able to entertain and learn new things. Due to these festivals, people remembers their history and ancestors again. **ECE YÜCE**