The “Almond Blossom Festival” takes place for the first time in the Turkish van
Akdamar Island on Van in Turkey hosted the ‘Almond Blossom Festival’ amid the blossoming trees around Lake Van.
With the support of Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, Van Governorate and Metropolitan Municipality, “Almond Blossom Festival” brought a cool breeze of blossoming trees which takes on a different beauty in every season. . Governor Van and Deputy Mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality Mehmet Emin Bilmez, other senior officials and many citizens joined the festival.
The festival started with a procession from the central district of Gevaş. Visitors reached the island after a 20-minute boat ride. As part of the activities held in front of the Akdamar church, the folklore team performed. Meanwhile, the bride and groom, who came to the island for the photo shoot, along with Governor Bilmez and accompanying members of protocol, danced the halay. During the festival, where poems were recited, local artists also sang Turkish and Kurdish songs.
Speaking at the festival, Governor Bilmez thanked all the institutions that contributed to the festival and added that from now on, they will hold the Almond Blossom Festival every year in the season when the almond blossoms bloom.
“Our main goal here is to introduce our city to the world, on the one hand, the ancient artifacts that still stand within dozens of civilizations. We want to preserve our natural beauties and wealth, and introduce life, culture, folklore and music of our people to the world. This is our culture,” he said.
“Akdamar Church was built in Anatolia during the most dominant period of Islamic civilization. It is the greatest symbol of Anatolian Islamic civilization,” he added.
“I hope that once the security forces clear the area of terrorist attacks, we will see serious developments in tourism, animal husbandry and our industry. I hope there will be more to come,” did he declare.
The guests who came to the island took many pictures of the landscape accompanied by the snow-capped mountain of Artos, the turquoise blue of Lake Van and the almond trees in blossom.
“We held the first of our festival this year. We will make it permanent by doing it every year. We try to make a significant contribution to the city’s tourism with events,” said the provincial director of culture and tourism. tourism, Erol Uslu.
