The First Leg of the Türkiye Cultural Route Festivals Has Begun in Nevşehir…

The Cappadocia Balloon and Cultural Route Festival, the first stop of the Türkiye Cultural Route Festivals, has begun in Nevşehir.

In a statement on the opening day of the festival, Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said that, through these festivals, they first determined routes along itineraries in order to bring the nation’s unique cultural heritage together with the heritage of civilization of the cities.

Minister Ersoy stated that along these routes they aim to bring together people of all ages and from all walks of life, as well as foreign guests, in every branch of art, and that while supporting culture, art and artists through the festivals, they aim to increase the worldwide recognition and branding of Türkiye above all, as well as of the cities where the festivals are held.

Recalling that they began this journey in 2020 in Istanbul with the Beyoğlu Cultural Route Festival, Minister Ersoy continued as follows:

"We had said that we would increase the number of cities where we hold festivals each year, and gradually spread this across all of Anatolia, all of Türkiye. In this context, last year we held 7 major events in 5 cities. Last year, nearly 20,000 of our artists had the opportunity to come together with more than 30 million people and art lovers at more than 4,000 events. This year, as we promised, we have increased the number of cities to 11, and we are making the start today in Nevşehir with the Cappadocia Balloon Festival. The Cappadocia Balloon Festival will be followed by the Erzurum Palandöken, Trabzon Sümela, Çanakkale Troy, Capital City, Konya Mystic, Istanbul Beyoğlu Cultural Route, Diyarbakır Sur, İzmir Ephesus and, finally, the Antalya Cultural Route festivals. In the meantime, we have also added the Gastro Antep Festival in Antep to this chain of festivals, just before the Capital City Cultural Route Festival. This year, across a total of 11 of our provinces, in 11 festivals, we aim to bring together more than 30,000 of our artists with tens of millions of art lovers at more than 4,000 events."

The Festivals Will Last 100 Days

Noting that the Nevşehir Cappadocia Balloon Festival will run until August 13, Minister Ersoy reported that more than 300 events will be held and that more than 1,000 artists will take part in them.

Pointing out that they were referring to a total period of 100 days, Minister Ersoy noted the following:

"It will run from August 5 to November 12. Over these 100 days we have proceeded with dates that for the most part follow one another, or leaving short gaps in between. In other words, for 100 days, from today onward for 100 days, art lovers will have the opportunity to fully enjoy events in different provinces. These festivals serve many functions. While supporting both culture and art and the artists, we are in particular ensuring that our people have easy, comfortable and effective access to culture and art. As we promote our cities, we are in fact also taking on a very significant role in passing our cultural values on to the next generation. In this sense, too, I regard them as extremely important events. Here, of course, you esteemed members of the press also bear great responsibility. We particularly ask you to follow these events on site whenever possible, and to convey and carry them from the scene to the print media, microphones and screens."

Emphasizing that the greater part of the events are held free of charge, Minister Ersoy shared the following: "In this respect, participation is very high; this was the case in previous years as well. Our goal is not to remain limited to 11 provinces. By adding 4-5 new cities each year, our aim will be to hold the cultural year festivals in 35 cities by 2028."

Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy opened the “Cappadocia Photographs Exhibition,” which is among the festival’s events, and visited Refik Anadol’s “Renaissance Dreams” Exhibition, the From Sketch to Pixel Digital Art Exhibition, Zeliha Bazoğlu’s “From Tradition to the Future” Exhibition and Devrim Erbil’s "With Love to Cappadocia" Exhibition.