Coming together at the nation’s capital
ENTRANCING sounds of Sufi music united thousands in the divided capital’s ancient walled quarter on Sunday during the finale of the Yuka Blend Street Festival.
World-beat musician Mercan Dede and his band performed to an enthralled crowd that had been “warmed up” by Mete Hatay and his ethnic electronic music at the Papa Bar stage on Uray Sokak.
Reflecting the annual festival’s celebration of cultures in Cyprus, festivalgoers consisted of Turkish and Greek Cypriots, tourists, and members of the Turkish-, Russian- and Arabic-speaking communities along with international students and families.
To the applause of the audience, whirling dervishes — including festival organiser Derviş G Zeybek — joined the performers on stage on Sunday for a spectacular Mevlana show.
“I was so proud to be on stage before this amazing person [Mercan Dede],” wrote Mr Hatay, who is also a senior research consultant at the PRIO Cyprus Centre, on social media.
“Congratulations to Derviş G Zeybek and the young people of Studio 21. You have created a great success in this past week. I have not felt such hope and joy for this country for a long time.”
President Mustafa Akıncı praised the organisers and the festival’s local and international participants for putting on and supporting the seven-day event which he said was “very important for the social and economic development of Lefkoşa”.
Visiting last Saturday with “first lady” Meral Akıncı, the president inspected art works adorning the walls, stopped at stands and watched activities.
He said: “Art and street festivals like Yuka Blend . . . revive mutual sentimental and historic values.
“The festival fused Cyprus’s historical and cultural values with the artists’ multi-perspective approach and aims to create new
opportunities for young artists.”
Named after the South American yucca plant and the carcass of a 39,000-year-old woolly mammoth discovered on Siberia, Yuka Blend celebrates the fusion of present and past.
This year, Mr Zeybek and his team organised activities on the theme of the four elements: earth, air, water and fire.
Stands featured a variety of food and refreshments, clothes, handmade accessories, vintage items, crafts, face-painting and exhibitions included photography and painting along with clay and metal modelling.
Meanwhile local and international artists gave a “new lease of life” to the walled city with graffiti and painted art, adding to the work of previous artists from the last two Yuka Blend Festivals.
The musical line-up included Cahit Kutrafalı, DJ Dinç, Haji Mike and Toska Ellis, while there were displays of dance, painting and aerial yoga along with poetry performances. Among other activities were contemporary dance, mindfulness, windmill-making, herbal first-aid, bicycle safety, cycling tours, photo walks and energy healing.
The sightseeing train of festival partner Lefkoşa Turkish Municipality provided a shuttle service between Girne Gate, Asmaaltı, Selimiye and Arabahmet, while the municipality’s sharing kitchen and animal shelter teams set up stands. The municipal shadow puppet show Karagöz’s Magic Vegetables, by İzel Seylani, packed out the Bandabuliya stage last Saturday.
Other festival backers were the Prime Ministry’s Anti-drugs Commission, the Deputy Prime Ministry, Foreign Ministry, Youth Department, Evkaf Foundation, Velespeed Lefkoşa bike hire, Kale Paint, North Cyprus Turkcell and Arkın University of Creative Arts and Design (Arucad).