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Antalya is preparing to host the closing leg of the nationwide Türkiye Culture Route Festival from Nov. 1 to 9, bringing together visual arts, music, digital heritage experiences and family-focused activities across 67 venues, with 517 separate events designed to underline the city’s year-round cultural potential.
According to the statement shared by the festival press office, the program has been built to show that Antalya is not only a Mediterranean holiday city but also a destination where history, design, crafts and performing arts can be experienced in every season. Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said the festival gives Antalya a wider platform to present its heritage and creative scene to local and international visitors, adding that such events help position the city as a place that can be visited throughout the year, not only in the summer months.
He underlined that the ministry aims to strengthen a sustainable and inclusive tourism model by supporting local artists, artisans and cultural initiatives.
Throughout the nine-day program, leading exhibition halls and historical venues will host shows that blend global names with local cultural memory. Antalya Culture and Art Exhibition Hall will present Surrealist Spark, which features original works of Belgian artist Rene Magritte, a key figure of European surrealism, together with Time Layers by Turkish actor and artist Kenan Isik, who brings a printmaking sensibility to his visual works. Antalya’s intangible cultural asset known as Barak Kilimi, a traditional flat weave originating from the region, will be introduced in a dedicated exhibition titled Living Heritage Barak Kilimi at Turkan Soray Cultural Center.
The historical Hidirlik Tower will turn into an immersive space through the AI-supported digital art installation Traveller Anatolian Civilizations, offering visitors an interactive journey through the ancient cultures of Anatolia. The Time Craft projection will be screened on Antalya’s landmark Clock Tower. Bulent Ecevit Cultural Center will open several shows, including Turkey from the Sky, Crowded Solitude Painting Exhibition and Ancient Traces Gobeklitepe Ceramic Exhibition. Dokumapark Modern Arts Gallery will present the 102 Works Republic Exhibition, while Hadrian Gate will become the meeting point for the presentation of the craft of felt making, introduced as an intangible culture carrier.
The musical side of the festival has been designed for different age groups and tastes. Popular singers Bengu, Murat Dalkilic, Merve Ozbey, Aydilge, Soner Sarikabadayi, Haktan, Sagopa Kajmer, Buray and Derya Ulug will meet their audiences at the open-air stage in Konyaalti Beach Park.
At the same time, names such as Anjelika Akbar, Peter Theremin, Cameratalia, Cengiz Ozkan, Yonca Evcimik, Muharrem Temiz and Umut Akyurek will present concerts and performances in different venues.
During the festival, the main stage institutions of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism will present their current productions in Antalya.
State Opera and Ballet and State Theatres will bring to Antalya the musical Seven Husbands of Hurmuz, the musical play Happy Ending, the ballet performance "Paquita"/"A Midsummer Night’s Dream," and the theatre production "Therese Raquin The Anatomy of a Murder."
The joint production with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, The Abduction from the Seraglio, will present to the audience a story set in the magnificent Ottoman period. Ankara State Theatre will come to the city with the musical Blood Brothers. The world-renowned Turkish dance group Anadolu Atesi will perform at the ancient theatre of Aspendos, creating a bridge between a Roman-period monument and contemporary stage choreography.
The festival program is not limited to indoor arts events. Photographers will be able to join FotoMaraton Antalya and FotoMaraton Children to capture the most striking corners of the city. Young people will meet within the debate themed Culture Assembly, while food enthusiasts will experience shared culinary traditions of Crete and Antalya through the tasting event Two Shores One Table at Zincirli Han. There will also be a brunch event focusing on Antalya’s famous jams.
For visitors interested in archaeology and history, the festival will organize trips to the main ancient and excavation sites of the region, including Myra/Andriake, Phaselis, Patara, Olympos, Aspendos, Sillyon, Perge, Side, Termessos, Syedra and Antiocheia ad Cragum, as well as to Alanya Museum. Workshops and guided walks in Kaleici, the historical core of Antalya, will welcome archaeology enthusiasts.
The festival also gives space to traditional crafts through hands-on workshops on felt making, ebru (traditional Turkish paper marbling), wooden spoon making, card weaving, ceramics, painted ornamentation, musical instrument making, jewelry and miniature arts. A workshop titled Cultural Heritage and Simulation Experience will allow visitors to discover heritage through VR technologies. The mobile cinema truck Cinema on the Road will bring open-air screenings to different districts of Antalya.
Young talents will be able to play the pianos placed in Erasta Shopping Mall under the You Play Too project. At Hadrian Gate, the ArtMeydan setup will host artists who will perform among residents and visitors. Konyaalti Beach Park will host a Children’s Village, which will include observation of the sky, Etnosport Truck, Aselsan themed science and technology areas and other activities combining sports and discovery. The traveling exhibition and museum of Canakkale will help transfer historical awareness to children. TRT Market will offer licensed products of popular children’s programs. Writer Koray Avci Cakman will come together with young readers, and Antalya State Opera and Ballet will stage the children’s opera Rapunzel.
As part of efforts to promote local culinary identity, star chefs will prepare Antalya’s regional dishes at 10 selected restaurants defined as taste points, introducing them to visitors and guests.
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