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Anatolian Cultures & Food Festival May 16-19, 2013

TheCommander

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About Festival

The Anatolian Cultures and Food Festival is a cultural and historical event that includes exhibitions, food, art craft, performances, dances and live music activities. More than 45,000 people from United States and around the world attend the four-day event each year.

The 1st Anatolian Cultures and Food Festival was held in OC Fairgrounds, the 2nd one at OC Great Park, the 3rd year, the festival came back at the OC Fairgrounds. This year again in OC Fairgrounds, the festival will run from the 16th to the 19th of May, 2013.

Visitors enter the festival area through the “Civilizations Path”, which consists of 14 gates each representing different civilizations like The Hittite Empire, The Kingdom of Commagene, Lydia, The Persian Empire, The Urartu State, The Phrygia, The Ionian Civilization,The Assyria, Troy, The Roman Empire,The Byzantine Empire, The Great Seljuq Empire, The Ottoman Empire, and Turkish Republic. Anatolia has been a cradle for all these and many other civilizations throughout the history. At each gate, actors wearing authentic costumes of each civilization welcome and greet all visitors.

Three dimensional giant-sized replicas of five different cities of Anatolia (Istanbul, Konya, Antalya, Mardin, Van, Gaziantep, Isparta, Burdur and Kilis) and the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul are assembled with panoramic backgrounds. Artisans traveling all the way from Turkey display and demonstrate many traditional handicrafts like hand- woven carpets, the arts of water marbling, calligraphy, stone-carving and filigree during the four-day festival.

The replica of the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul houses more than 120 booths with food, handcrafts, souvenirs, and art exhibits. Visitors are able to freshen themselves up with a cup of Turkish coffee or several glasses of tea at another busy spot of the festival area, named after The Traditional Coffeehouse. Just like the real Grand Bazaar, visitors can walk through the booths displaying hand-made jewelry, scarves, lucky charms and hand- woven carpet displays accompanied by the Anatolian hospitality.

Visitors are drawn into 99 different kinds of food including kebabs and doner (Gyros), various kinds of desserts including baklava, dumplings, and the world famous tough and stretchy Maras’s ice-cream. The Anatolian Cultures and Food Festival is a feast for all of the five senses!


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The Cities

The festivals inaugural year featured five city exhibits from the Anatolian region. This year the organizers intend to have a total of nine cities exhibited given their popularity amongst visitors to the festival. The cities are exhibited in a three dimensional manner where the artisitic goal is to have a virtual and realistic experience. The cities that are to be displayed at the festival include: Istanbul, Konya, Mardin, Antalya, Van, Isparta, Burdur, Gaziantep and Kilis.

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The City of Istanbul
The festival celebrates this stunning city that straddles Europe and Asia, with a display of its most famous structures, from the Blue Mosque to the Ataturk Bridge over the Bosphorus. In the middle of the exhibit is the Maiden’s Tower where short videos are screened, while outside artists demonstrate traditional Ottoman crafts like gilding, marbling and calligraphy

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The City of Antalya
The festival recreates the pristine beaches of this popular coastal city, with the historic Aspendos Theater serving as the backdrop. Also on display are such archeological gems as the Temple of Apollo and the ancient city of Demre, home of Saint Nicholas (aka Santa Claus)

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The City of Burdur
Burdur is known for its historical Burdur houses, archeological and ethnography museums, the first settlements of the ancient people (Hacilar), antique cities Sagalassos and Kibyra, Turkish Islamic monuments, Insuyu Cave and the lakes.

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The City of Isparta
Another name of this city is "City of Roses" and is famous for its rosewater production and handmade carpet making. Tourism brings revenues along with rosewater production and handmade carpet making both local and international in the past decade due to biblical tourism.

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The City of Konya
After entering through the historic Karatay Gate, visitors see one of this city’s landmarks, a replica of a museum dedicated to Rumi, the 13th Century Sufi poet. Next to it stands a mosque where traditional prayers take place, while the Whirling Dervishes give daily performances of their spellbinding form of meditation

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The City of Mardin
Another historic gate ushers visitors to this city famous with its stone-carved houses and its multi-religious character. Inside a traditional dwelling, festival goers can sit on hand-made carpets and enjoy the crafts, music and traditions of this historic city

The Cities - Anatolian Cultures and Food Festival
 
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The Cities

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The City of Van
The imposing Hosaf Castle marks the entrance of this Eastern Anatolian city, home of the oldest surviving Armenian Church of Akdamar. Inside are pictures and slideshows of the original Icons with a backdrop of Mount Ararat as seen from Lake Van

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The City of Gaziantep
City of Gaziantep is famous for its historical places and cuisine. Museums in the city hosts ceramic pieces, figures, seals from the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages; and various riches from the Hittite, Urartu, Persian, Roman and Byzantine civilizations. The famous mosaics of the ancient city of Zeugma are separately displayed at the Zeugma museum. The dessert of baklava is originally native to this city and famous throughout the world along with burmalı, künefe (shredded dough with sweet cheese) and kadayif (shredded dough with pistachios)

The Cities - Anatolian Cultures and Food Festival
 
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The Landmarks

Mevlana Museum

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The Mevlâna museum, located in Konya, Turkey, is the mausoleum of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, a Sufi mystic also known as Mevlâna or Rumi. It was also the dervish lodge (tekke) of the Mevlevi order, better known as the whirling dervishes. Sultan 'Ala' al-Din Kayqubad, the Seljuk sultan who had invited Mevlâna to Konya, offered his rose garden as a fitting place to bury Baha' ud-Din Walad (also written as Bahaeddin Veled), the father of Mevlâna, when he died on 12 January 1231. When Mevlâna died in 17 December 1273 he was buried next to his father.

Mevlâna's successor Hüsamettin Çelebi decided to build a mausoleum (Kubbe-i-Hadra) over his grave of his master. The Seljuk construction, under architect Behrettin Tebrizli, was finished in 1274.

Armenian Cathedral of the Holy Cross (Akdamar Church)

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The Church of the Holy Cross (Armenian: Surb Khach) on Akdamar Island, in Turkey, was a medieval cathedral of the Armenian Apostolic Church, built as a palatine church for the kings of Vaspurakan and later serving as the seat of the Armenian Catholicosate of Aght'amar.

ThThe Church of the Holy Cross (Armenian: Surb Khach) on Akdamar Island, in Turkey, was a medieval cathedral of the Armenian Apostolic Church, built as a palatine church for the kings of Vaspurakan and later serving as the seat of the Armenian Catholicosate of Aght'amar.

The Church of the Holy Cross was once an important Armenian cathedral. The seat of the Armenian Orthodox patriarch, the cathedral was founded by King Gagik between 915 and 921 as part of a royal complex that included a palace, monastery, streets, gardens and terraced parks. The church is all that remains today.

The church was designed by the Armenian architect Trdat Mendet (also known as Manuel), who also built the cathedral in nearby Ani and helped repair Hagia Sophia's dome when it collapsed after an earthquake.

The Church of the Holy Cross was the seat of an Armenian patriarch from 1116 to 1895, after which it was abandoned due to conflict between Armenia and the Ottoman Empire. The building fell into disrepair and was neglected throughout the 20th century.

The cathedral was restored by the Turkish government beginning in May 2005. The restoration cost $1.5 million and took 18 months to complete. At a ceremony on March 29, 2007, it was officially opened as a museum.

e Church of the Holy Cross was once an important Armenian cathedral. The seat of the Armenian Orthodox patriarch, the cathedral was founded by King Gagik between 915 and 921 as part of a royal complex that included a palace, monastery, streets, gardens and terraced parks. The church is all that remains today.

The church was designed by the Armenian architect Trdat Mendet (also known as Manuel), who also built the cathedral in nearby Ani and helped repair Hagia Sophia's dome when it collapsed after an earthquake.

The Church of the Holy Cross was the seat of an Armenian patriarch from 1116 to 1895, after which it was abandoned due to conflict between Armenia and the Ottoman Empire. The building fell into disrepair and was neglected throughout the 20th century.

The cathedral was restored by the Turkish government beginning in May 2005. The restoration cost $1.5 million and took 18 months to complete. At a ceremony on March 29, 2007, it was officially opened as a museum.

Aspendos Theatre
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The theatre of Aspendos is one of the best preserved theatres of the Roman world. It is situated in Lycia (Turkey) at about 15 km from the mediterranean coast. The history of the city goes probably back to 1000 BC. Romanisation started in 190 B.C. The theatre was built in the period 161 - 169 A.D. on the south-east slope of the hill on which the ancient city was developed. According to bilingual inscriptions the construction was payed by A. Curtius Crispinus Arruntiatus and A. Curtius Crispinus Auspicatus who executed the will of A. Curtius Crispinus. At the same time another inscription mentions Zeno as the architect. It is one of the few roman buildings of which the name of the architect is known. With a seating capacity of 20,000 the Aspendos Theater is still useable today.

Maiden's Tower
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The Maiden's Tower (Turkish: Kız Kulesi), also known as Leander's Tower (Tower of Leandros) since the medieval Byzantine period, is a tower lying on a small islet located at the southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait 200 m (220 yd) from the coast of Üsküdar in Istanbul, Turkey.

After the naval victory at Cyzicus, the Ancient Athenian general Alcibiades possibly built a custom station for ships coming from the Black Sea on a small rock in front of Chrysopolis (today's Üsküdar). [2] On this site In 1110 Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus built a wooden tower protected by a stone wall. [2] From the tower an iron chain stretched across to another tower erected on the European shore, at the quarter of Mangana in Constantinople. [2] The islet was then connected to the Asiatic shore through a defense wall, whose underwater remains are still visible. [2] during the siege of Constantinople in 1453, the tower held a Byzantine Garrison commanded by the Venetian Gabriele Trevisano. [2] After the conquest of the city, Sultan Mehmet II used the structure as a watch tower. [2] The tower, mistakenly known as Leander's Tower after the legend of Hero and Leander (which took place in the Dardanelles), was destroyed during the earthquake of 1509, and burned in 1721. [2] Since then it was used as a lighthouse, and the surrounding walls were repaired in 1731 and 1734, until in 1763 it was erected using stone. [2] From 1829 the tower was used as a quarantine station, and in 1832 was restored by Sultan Mahmud II. [2] Restored again by the harbour authority in 1945, [2] the most recent restoration took place in 1998, when steel supports were added around the ancient tower as a precaution after the 17 August 1999 earthquake.[3]

The interior of the tower has been transformed into a popular café and restaurant, with an excellent view of the former Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman capital.[4] Private boats make trips to the tower several times a day.[5]

Mardin Stone Houses
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Mardin has preserved the old-style carving in its houses. Since located in a volcanic area, the basic input used in local architecture is easily workable calcareous rock. Houses in Mardin, reflecting all features of a closed-in life style are surrounded by 4 meters high walls and isolated from the street. These walls also provide protection from harsh climatic conditions.

Houses have their separate sections for males and females and mostly have no kitchen. The most important feature of these houses is the stone craftsmanship called "Midyat Work". Doors, windows and small columns are dressed with arches and various motif. The central settlement was given the status of urban site area in 1979. Above the house doors are carved pictures of the Kaaba if the owner has made the pilgrimage to Mecca, and the door knockers have a distinctive form resembling the beaks of birds. Often the lanes run through arched tunnels beneath the upper floors of houses. Relief carvings of animals and fruit lend the city a dream-like character, and the modern world seems to fade away.

Sehzade Mosque
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The Şehzade Mosque (Turkish: 'Şehzade Camii') is an Ottoman imperial mosque located in the district of Fatih, on the third hill of Istanbul, Turkey. It is sometimes referred to as the “Prince's Mosque” in English. The Şehzade Mosque was commissioned by Sultan Suleiman I in memory of his eldest son by Hürrem, Prince Mehmet, who died of smallpox at the age of 21 in 1543, though the cause for his death is disputed. It was the first major commission by the Imperial Architect Mimar Sinan, and was completed in 1548. It is considered by architectural historians as Sinan's first masterpiece of classical Ottoman architecture.

Zeugma
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Ancient Zeugma City is located in Belkis Village 10 km east from Nizip / Gaziantep, by the River Euphrates. Importance of this settlement which demonstrates an uninterrupted in habiting since prehistorical ages, is that it is one of the two points allowing the easiest passage across the River Euphrates. "Zeugma" already stands for a term like "bridge head" or "passage location". The city is an important trade center of Hellenistic Era. After the region started to be ruled by Rome, importance of the city increased upon settlement of a military garrison called IV th Legion. Artistic activities increased and a cultural development is achieved in Zeugma parallel to progress in trade volume.

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The Topkapi Palace
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The Topkapi Palace as presented in Anatolian Cultures & Food Festival 2010

You can visit a detailed giant sized model of Topkapi Palace in Anatolian Cultures & Food Festival. The Topkapi Palace in Festival will also host some demonstrations of royal ceremonies played by professional actors/actresses in their authentic costumes.

The Gates of Civilizations (The civilizations throughout the history either established or reached the Anatolia)

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The Republic of Turkiye
The Republic of Turkey was founded in October 29, 1923 by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, after the abolishment of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey is a Eurasian country located mostly on Anatolia in Western Asia and on East Thrace in Southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the east; andIraq and Syria to the southeast.

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The Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire was a state founded by Turkishtribes under Osman Bey in north-western Anatolia in 1299. The empire reached its peak at 1590, covering parts of Asia, Europe and Africa. The reign of the long-lived Ottoman dynasty lasted for 623 years, from 27 July 1299 to 1 November 1922, when the monarchy inTurkey was abolished.

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The Great Seljuk Empire

The Great Seljuq Empire was a medieval Turko-Persian Sunni Muslim empire, originating from the Qynyq branch of Oghuz Turks. The Seljuq Empire controlled a vast area stretching from the Hindu Kush to easternAnatolia and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf.

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The Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire (or Byzantium) was the direct continuation of the Roman Empire during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople

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The Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterized by anautocratic form of government and large territorial holdings around the Mediterranean in Europe, Africa, and Asia.

and many others. For more info The Gates of Civilizations - Anatolian Cultures and Food Festival
 
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2011 TV Commercial - Anatolian Cultures and Food Festival

2010 TV Commercial - Anatolian Cultures and Food Festival
 
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I have never seen such a beautiful organization in my life. As if you live in Turkiye while you live in the USA. I strongly recommend to visit if you can. It is fantastic.
 
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I just wanted to stress one last thing. As you know, today in the US the most important thing is "lobbies". There are many of them in US Congress. They also are power in media as well. Unfortunately, most of the Americans think that so-called Armenian genocide happened. They think like that because it was told them it happened like Armenian diaspora said. Most of the Americans and their congressman and senators even were not visited by Turks. Fortunately, it has been changing. Maybe for some, the festival is just a festival and for fun. But it is much more than a festival. I had posted this article but it is the best time to show you since it is related to festival. TAMAR KEVONIAN is an important armenian journalist in CA. And please allow some time to read what she wrote. Then you will understand why this kind of activities are so important for our country

TAMAR KEVONIAN
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Losing the War

A recent column from these pages traveled the wide highways of the internet and found a home on another Armenia related website. The notice popped up in my inbox and, curious, I clicked on the link. First I noticed the advertising for a singles website, then, in the process of looking for the text of the column, I scrolled down the page where my attention was captured by a bright orange banner ad for the Anatolian Cultures & Food Festival.

Anatolia refers to a region in the world that is part of Asia Minor (the eastern end of Asia) – from the Black Sea in the north, the Mediterranean Sea in the south, the Aegean Sea in the west to the Taurus Mountains in the east. Today it is considered part of Turkey, who inherited it from the Ottomans who wrestled it away from the Armenians, who were preceded by the Byzantines and so on through the Romans, the Greeks, and all the way back to the Hittites. Armenians refer to the area as Giligia.

The website is well designed and informative. Its sponsors include the Turkish-American Chamber of Commerce, West America Turkic council, Westwood One, OC Weekly and Turkish Airlines amongst many others. The festival is organized by a non-profit group called Pacifica Institute, established by Turkish and American community leaders in Los Angeles to introduce Turkey and Turkish culture in a “unique way, from past to present.” Its mission is to “foster peace and honor diversity through DIALOG, and multicultural interaction.” The capitals are theirs, to emphasize the key points of their beliefs.

“With a VISION of a collaborative society based on shared human values, Pacifica connects with other like-minded, non-profit organizations and provides opportunities for cooperation among diverse groups. The Institute also organizes conferences, panels, and art activities in pursuit of intellectual interaction.” It went on, stating it greater mission.

“Pacifica supports the IDEALS, of Turkish members of the community to converse their own culture while adapting to the local society. In addition, it introduces authentic Turkish culture and history to communities across California.” I was perplexed by its claim of authenticity while the site layed claim to so many of the cultures in Anatolia.

“Pacifica Institute organizes many activities by working together with likeminded nonprofit organizations in order to familiarize the real Turkish CULTURE and Turkey to Americans, foreign nationalities, and especially Californians.”

Reading this inspiring description of their work, I couldn’t decide if I felt anger or envy welling up inside me.

Located in the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, it is a 15 acre complex complete with a food court, a children’s area, a performance stage, reproductions of Turkish iconic architecture such as the Gates of Cilicia, the fountain of Ahmet III, and a corridor of beautifully prepared banners educating the attendees of the history of the cultures found throughout Anatolia’s past, punctuated by volunteers in exquisite period and cultural costumes of the various eras.

“Festivalgoers included local Orange County and Los Angeles residents and ranged from Americans, Turks, Armenians, Greeks, Middle Easterners and Indian ,” announces the press release. It seems last year’s inaugural festival attracted 30,000 people and received significant media coverage. And why not? It was a well prepared, interactive, informative and visually impressive display that appealed to Southern Californians’ desire to have fun. This year’s event seems to be gearing up for more of the same.

The Turkish-American community had come together to present themselves to the larger community in which they resided. This allowed their friends and neighbors to learn about them in a nonthreatening environment while fostering friendship, cooperation and support.

I racked my brain to think of a similar event organized by the Armenian community in which an impressive display of information, food, music, architecture, and all other elements that make up a culture, were organized specifically to present to those unfamiliar with the nuanced richness of the Armenian existence.

Although the festival claims support by the Organization of Armenians in Istanbul, the participation of Armenian dance companies and musicians and many Armenian attendees, the site itself offers very little information about the people whose footprint so heavily impacted Anatolia.

The list of civilizations includes the Ottomans, Seljuk, Byzantine, and Roman Empires along with the Urartu, Hittite and Ionian States. Armenians’ impact is referenced briefly with the words “The Urartus mixed with other tribal nations and formed the Urartu nation. Some sources refer to the Urartus as ancestors of the Armenians. The Urartu people are called the people from ‘Ararat’ in the Torah.”

With that brief sentence, they took care of a thorny subject that only really matters to a small, select few. What did I expect? After all, this festival is called “Discovering Turkiye” and they have the power to choose whatever information serves their goal. Their presentation has wide appeal and positively portrays the current state of Turkey. As a result, they appeal to the mass media which helps them spread their message.

The Turks have mastered the art of diversification. Their approach has gone beyond the scholarly and political arenas into the mass market where current perception and image matter much more than historical accuracy. Demonstrations, hunger strikes, marches, banquets and athletic events serve us by keeping the Armenian spirit alive within ourselves but make no inroads in the context of the society in which we live. We still have not managed to package ourselves in an outer layer that is appealing to our neighbors when all our outreach efforts to the masses center on the topic of our fight for Genocide recognition.

It is no coincidence that the largest Turkish festival in the United States does not take place in a city with the largest Turkish community but in a part of the country with the largest Armenian community. It may be a consolation to think Armenians have them worried but in the popularity contest of public opinion, it seems we have fallen far behind and are losing the war.

Losing the War | Asbarez Armenian News
 
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