London

Gracing the banks of the Thames in a loud and lively celebration of Turkish culture in the UK, the Coin Street Turkish Festival is an upbeat annual event that is certainly a crowd-pleaser. Offering Turkish trinkets, souvenirs and party accessories, this day is accompanied by the latest Turkish pop, live music and dance performances, and washed down with Turkish cola or beer and sweetened with plates of baklava and refreshing watermelon.

With a notable presence in Hackney and Haringey, many Turkish-speaking communities have settled in London. This festival pays tribute to the culture and achievements of the community, as well as representing those of Turkey.

New York

Another fun summertime festival, the New York Turkish Festival is held in Central Park each year. The aim of the celebration is ‘to display the Turkic cultures with all its aspects, to inform and entertain the attendants and children, and serve as a scientific, artistic, and cultural resource’ – and it realises these goals in style! With a focus on the arts, folk culture, hand crafts, rugs and carpets, tents, cuisine, and oil-wrestling of Turkey, the content of the festival is always fascinating.

Last year there was a special exhibition of the textiles and fabrics of traditional Turkish regional costumes, which proved to be a well-received collection of all the different types of fancy dress worn across the vast expanse of Turkey. With particular attention to headgear and headdresses, an exceptional display of yashmaks (fine muslin veils), bashlyks (cone-shaped headdresses, a traditional Turkic or Cossack design) and calpacks (high-crowned caps, made from felt or sheepskin, especially popular with one young visitor who, endearingly, was observed to cried out to her mother that she’d found the Christmas hats!) Traditional, functional, and indicative of regional and geographical associations, these garments and accessories provided a relevant expression of the lived experience of Turkish culture.