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The 34th International Akcaabat Music and Folk Dance Festival opened in Akcaabat, a district of Trabzon on Türkiye's Black Sea coast, and continues with a series of cultural events through July 20.
The festival began with a ceremony outside the Akcaabat Municipality building, where Akcaabat Mayor Osman Nuri Ekim addressed participants gathered for the opening.
Ekim said the event would bring together domestic and international folk dance teams throughout the festival, and thanked former district mayors and organizing teams for sustaining it over 34 years.
Following the opening remarks, an exhibition of Yesilcam-era film posters was unveiled. Participants then walked to the Hamamcimeni Bazaar accompanied by drum and zurna music. There, a traditional Akcaabat wedding was reenacted with horon folk dancing.
Folk dance teams from Azerbaijan, Moldova, Russia and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus performed alongside teams from the Turkish provinces of Bursa in the northwest, Gaziantep in the southeast, Izmir on the Aegean coast, Mersin on the Mediterranean coast and Samsun on the Black Sea coast.
On the festival's second day, Ekim laid a wreath at the Ataturk Monument, followed by a moment of silence and the reading of Türkiye's national anthem.
A procession then moved through the district with District Governor Abdullah Sahin, Ekim, local officials, residents and folk dance teams.
Speaking at Sahil Park Festival Square, Trabzon Governor Tahir Sahin described the festival as one of the city's key events for showcasing its cultural richness and thanked those involved in organizing it.
"The gathering of guests from different countries on the same stage is a valuable meeting that strengthens our bonds of friendship and brotherhood," Sahin said, adding that preserving Turkish culture for future generations while introducing it to the world is a shared responsibility.
Greater Trabzon Municipality Mayor Ahmet Metin Genc said the festival is of great importance to Akcaabat's cultural identity.
Ekim added that the festival remains one of the district's most valued cultural traditions, noting it has been held with the same enthusiasm for 34 years and serves as a platform where friendship, brotherhood and shared values converge.
The same international and domestic teams performed regional folk dances during the second day's events. Singers Samet Piyaleoglu and Eypio also performed at the festival.
Additional processions, folk dance performances and concerts are scheduled in the days ahead as the festival runs through July 20.
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