California Turkish Festival spotlights Anatolian values

The second annual Anatolian Cultures and Food Festival, sponsored by the Pacifica Institute, a nonprofit organization founded in 2003 by a group of Turkish-Americans based in California, has taken the sights, sounds and flavors of Anatolia to the US. The four-day event, which concluded on Sunday, featured replicas of monuments from five major Turkish cities (Mardin, Van, Istanbul, Antalya and Konya), including Topkapi Palace, the Ahmet III Fountain, ancient Aspendos theater, and Armenian Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Akdamar Island. Speaking at the festival's opening last week, Hakan Tekin, Turkey 's consul general in Los Angeles , congratulated the organizers, saying they had offered a great opportunity for people in America to see Turkey while avoiding jetlag. The festival's sponsors included the Prime Ministry's Promotion Fund. Calling such activities examples of Turkey 's policy of "opening up to the world," Tekin stated that Turkish groups in America have become more active in recent years. On entering the fairground, visitors walked down a path with archways representing Anatolian civilizations such as the Hittites, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks and Lydians. At each archway, visitors were greeted by friendly young men and woman dressed in the traditional costumes of each civilization. There were photos and information next to the archways in both Turkish and English.