2023 CULTURAL CALENDAR OF KARATAY IS RICH WITH CONTENTS

HASAN KILCA: WE WILL CONTINUE TO EXPERIENCE THE BEAUTIES OF OUR KARATAY TOGETHER

As has been the case so far, Karatay Municipality has made its mark in 2022 with works that will set an example for cultural municipal services. It carried out successful works to feature the history, civilization, culture, and artistic identity of the district. Hasan Kılca, the Mayor of Karatay,  said that they are exerting efforts to make Karatay an art and culture center and that 2022 was a very productive year in the direction of these objectives.

Karatay Municipality has made Karatay an art and culture center by hosting many culture and art programs in 2022.

Many activities were held in Karatay, from concerts to theater, from seminars to summer events, from festivals to travel programs, and free cultural and artistic services were offered to citizens. In addition, five works were brought to the memory of the city to protect and promote the deep-rooted history and rich heritage of the district.

POETRY FEAST AND POET-SINGER FESTIVAL ATTRACTED INTENSIVE ATTENTION FROM ART LOVERS

Karatay Municipality organized many events and organizations to contribute to the cultural and artistic life of the district. In this context, the 12th of the "Mevlana Poetry Festival", one of the most important cultural and artistic events in Konya, was organized with the cooperation of the Karatay Municipality and the Konya Branch of the Writers Union of Turkey.  The program was held at the Mevlana Museum's open Rose Garden of Mevlana Dervish Lodge and brought poets together with art lovers from all over the world and Turkey. Poets participating in the festival shared their works with art lovers. The "Konya Day of Troubadours" was hosted by Karatay Municipality this year, as in previous years. The 56th Minstrels' Day, which received full marks from the people of Konya, was held with the theme of "Loyalty to Âşık Veysel" with the participation of 37 minstrels and folk poets from four countries and 24 cities.

CONCERT PROGRAMS PROVIDED THE CITIZENS WITH A MUSIC FEST

Karatay Municipality also provided moments of pleasure to art lovers with its concert programs. The Turkish Folk Music Concert called “Aşina”, organized with the cooperation of Karatay Municipality and Necmettin Erbakan University was held with the great interest of the people of Konya. A full staff consisting of 76 academics and students presented a musical fest to the people of Konya by playing and singing beautiful works from all over Anatolia. With the 40 Ney Concert, works such as Hicaz Hümayun Peşrevi, Beyati Ayini 4th Greeting, Uşşak Saz Semaisi, Uşşak İlahisi (Hymn), and Niyaz İlahisi (Hymn) were revived with the breaths of ney players. At the same time, Sedat Anar, which brings together traditional religious music and Anatolian music, and the compositions he composed from the poems of many important people such as Mevlana, Yunus Emre, and Muhammed Nasuhi, met with the people of Konya with his "Ilahiler, Nefesler ve Deyişler" (Hymns, Breaths and Folk Poems) concert.

FIVE WORKS WERE BROUGHT TO THE MEMORY OF THE CITY IN 2022

Karatay Municipality, which places particular importance on its cultural publications, added five new works to them in 2022. It won the hearts of book lovers with its publications containing the material and moral values of Karatay.  In this context, the municipality presented the following books in five different languages to Konya's cultural and artistic memory; Karatay Kültür Zenginlikleri, Tıp Biliminin Türk-İslam Öncüleri, Türbeönü Bir Konya Mahallesinin Derin Tarihi, Sultanül Vaiz Tahir Büyükkörükçü, Terceme-i Sevakıp.

CINEMA AND THEATER SCREENINGS ARE VERY POPULAR

The municipality, which also contributed to the development of cinema and theater culture, presented movies for thousands of citizens with  “Kesişme; Iyi ki Varsın Eren”, Hayata Bir Mola, and open-air cinema events. The municipality, which also supports the citizens with free theater events, opened the curtain of the play " Ziyafet Sofrası ve Tarih Yazan Çocuklar" to the Karatay people.

CULTURAL TRIPS AND FESTIVAL PROGRAMS ENLIVEN THE SOCIAL LIFE

Lavender Festival, which has become the brand of Karatay, was held in the district, in which events with rich content and quality were realized. The festival, held with intense participation, significantly contributed to the promotion of the district. The municipality also ideally represented Karatay by taking part in Konya promotion days held in Istanbul and Ankara throughout the year with the Gastrofest, Perlafes, and Develop (Devfest) festivals. Karatay Municipalitywhich continues to touch the lives of the people of the district with its many social and cultural projects, also offered the citizens the opportunity to see places they had never seen with its travel programs. In this direction, citizens visited Çanakkale, Edirne, Hatay, Bursa, Istanbul, and many historical and tourist places of the Eastern Black Sea Region.

2023 CULTURE AND ART CALENDAR OF KARATAY IS FULL

Besides all these programs, Karatay Municipality stood by the Karatay people with many activities such as seminars where Family-Educator meetings were held, mawlid al-nabi (prophet's birthday), City and Civilization Workshop, Photographers Competition through my Viewfinder, Islamic Solidarity Games Konya Photography Competition, book distribution to schools in the district, and organizations for women. The Municipality will host many projects, events, and activities, as well as culture and art programs in 2023 in the direction of the cultural vision and objectives of Karatay.

WE BRING A BREATH OF FRESH AIR TO KARATAY'S CULTURE AND ART LIFE

Hasan Kılca, the Mayor of Karatay, who said that they are trying to make Karatay the center of culture and art, stated that 2022 was a quite productive year in line with these objectives.

Hasan Kılca, who stated that cultural services will continue to increase in 2023, said, “  “While we are preparing our district for the future with our physical investments,  we are also making the social lives of all our young and old alike citizens richer and more qualified with our services in some fields such as social, art, culture, sports, and education.  We brought a breath of fresh air to the cultural and artistic life of our district with our Poetry Festivals, Minstrels' Day, our published books, concerts, and many other events. We carry out all these programs in order for our fellow citizens to live in our Karatay with pleasure and happiness. We plan our activities with richness and diversity suitable for people of all ages and every walk of life and we organize special events worthy of our city. We will continue to increase our cultural activities, to be together with our fellow citizens with our new and different projects, and to live and share the beauties of our Karatay. We can't get enough of serving our county. In 2023, We will continue to work to make Karatay a district that produces culture.”