The International Olive Festival, which was held for the 22nd time this year, opened with intense participation. The festival, which started with traditional incense burning on the evening of Wednesday, October 4th, within the scope of ‘Girne Arkın Fest 23’, created a festive atmosphere with cultural and artistic activities that continued throughout the night. The night started with the opening speech of Girne Mayor Murat Şenkul, followed by Republican Turkish Party (CTP) Chairman Tufan Erhürman, Assembly Speaker Zorlu Töre and Olive Grove Muhtarı Hatice Aydın, respectively.
Following the speeches, members of the Northern Cyprus Republican Assembly and guests from Turkey were invited to the stage for the festival. The Olive Festival, which starts with traditional incense burning, will be full with delicious olive products, local art and culture shows, concerts and many other events until October 8. The festival continues to be an unforgettable event that aims to highlight the importance of olives by showcasing the products of local olive producers.
Şenkul: “We want to make everyone who lives here love this place.”
Mayor of Girne, Murat Şenkul, talked about the importance of the festival and the Olive Grove Festival in his speech and said, “Welcome to the Olive Festival. As you know, this year we started a 40-day festival period starting from Ozanköy and we are continuing its premiere in Zeytinlik. “We are very happy to be with you in this historical place of Temroz and Templos at the Olive Festival, which in our opinion is the most important and oldest festival of Cyprus, which started during the time of Mayor’s Sümer, continued with Nidai Bey and continues with us,” he said. Şenkul continued his speech as follows: “We have guests from Turkey; We welcome the municipalities of Anamur, Çankaya, Ayvalık, Hatay Altınözü and Hatay Reyhanlı. Our aim is to increase the sense of belonging to our city through festivals. We have a city with a very serious foreign population. We have a serious security and cleanliness problem here. “In order to overcome these problems and to make everyone love our city, whether they are citizens or not, whether they are Turks or not, we want to make everyone who lives here love this place.”
Erhürman: “This is a period that suits Girne and is exactly what the people of Girne want.”
In his speech, CTP Chairman Tufan Erhürman stated that the 40-day festival is a festival that suits Girne and lasts exactly as the people of Girne want. Erhürman continued his speech as follows: “Our guests who came from Turkey and are among us this evening, I offer my love and respect to all of you. Of course, the Olive Festival is now a brand, but this year the Olive Festival has become a part of a festival that lasts for 40 days and 40 nights, under the leadership of Mayor Murat. “I think we are experiencing a period that suits Girne and is exactly what the people of Girne want, and I can understand that this will continue, both from Mayor Murat and from the eyes of the devoted employees of Girne Municipality,” he said.
The night continued with concerts and shows
The festival program continued with the folk dance show of Girne Municipality Folk Dance Ensemble. Then, there was a folk dance show by Çankaya Municipality’s Hoy-Tur Folk Dance Group, which came from Turkey for the festival.
The night, where a nostalgic dress show was presented with old wedding and engagement dresses of women from Zeytinlik, continued with an enjoyable concert accompanied by the music of Niyal Öztürk Band. Young Art Lovers Association also performed a folk dance show as part of the festival and gave the audience unforgettable moments. At the end of the night, the SOS Group took the stage on the main stage of the festival and crowned the festival with their energetic performance. This night full of colorful events gave festival participants unforgettable moments.
Source (Turkish): Girne Municipality
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