My Traveling Joys: Çocuk Bayramı

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Celebrating Çocuk Bayramı in Safranbolu, Turkey

4/24/2012 04:03:00 AM by Joy9 comments

We apparently have a knack of celebrating Turkish holidays nearly everywhere but in Istanbul.

Guess that's because hubby has the time off from work so we decide to get out of the city.

In 2011, we celebrated the Çocuk Bayramı (by accident) in Edirne, Turkey. This year, we were about four hours east of Istanbul in this Ottoman-rich town called Safranbolu. This is one of many Turkish cities that's been high on my travel list and luckily is within a sort-of easy drive away from Istanbul.

Yesterday, April 23, marked an important holiday in the Turkish calendar called International Children's Day, a day that honors all children as the country’s future generation. This date also marks the anniversary of the inauguration of Turkey’s National Assembly, which took place on April 23, 1920, under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Turkey officially celebrated Grand National Assembly Day on April 23 and held a children’s week starting on that day, from 1923 to 1934. The Turkish government then combined the two events into National Sovereignty and Children’s Day, known as Ulusal Egemenlik ve Çocuk Bayramı, in 1935.

In the main square in Safranbolu, people displayed many Turkish flags outside.

As you can see whenever there is a Turkish holiday, the Turks proudly display the Turkish flag in storefronts, on their homes and on large office buildings. Here are a few shots I took yesterday in Safranbolu before we headed back to Istanbul.

Celebrating Turkish Holidays

4/25/2011 09:34:00 AM by Joy2 comments

Edirne - We heard what sounded like a band playing on a nearby street so we followed the music.

Sure enough, around the corner, a petite Turkish woman was leading a parade through the city streets of Edirne.

We knew Saturday, April 23, marked an important holiday in the Turkish calendar called International Children's Day, a day that honors all children as the country’s future generation. We later learned April 23 also marks the anniversary of the inauguration of Turkey’s National Assembly, which took place on April 23, 1920, under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

A statue honoring President Ataturk in the main square of Edirne.

The city’s streets were lined with red Turkish flags everywhere - that should of been a clear indication that a celebration would be happening. However, we had only arrived in Edirne a few hours earlier and didn’t know what to expect.

We stood along the sidelines of a cobble-stone sidewalk and watched the parade. The exuberant crowd of people were singing, waving flags and carrying torches throughout the streets. Even though I didn’t understand what they were singing, I couldn’t help but smile and clap my hands along with everyone else.