Dancing Greeks give locals a scare
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Doğan News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 14, 2009 00:00
TRABZON - The Kalandar tradition is an old one and some say it is of Orthodox Christian Greeks origin, who returned to Greece in the population exchange last century. Tourists performing a Kalandar dance scares some locals in the Trabzon province
Debate broke out after a group of Greek tourists visited a village in the Black Sea region of Trabzon a week ago to celebrate the local Kalandar new year. Their activities created concern among locals who saw it as a missionary activity, while most others said it was an innocent celebration, controversial only because the visitors were Greek.
Kalandar is the name of festivities to celebrate the new year according to the Gregorian calendar by people in Turkey’s Black Sea region.
While there are some variances among regions in the Black Sea, in Trabzon on the morning of Kalandar, one person from each household gets up early to sprinkle water around the house and boil corn to feed the children.
People believe angels visit their homes on the morning of Kalandar and that is why they open all the windows and doors during the day. Children at night sing and dance, and go around collecting sweets.
Some people wear scary outfits, especially of Karakoncolos, a terrifying looking, but harmless genie, to frighten children.
The Kalandar tradition is a centuries old tradition and some say it was a tradition of Orthodox Christian Greeks who returned to Greece in the population exchange earlier last century. It is seen as the Anatolian version of Halloween.
Soon after the photos of the 60 Greek tourists, who came Jan. 2 to celebrate Kalandar, appeared in the local newspapers, letters of criticism and condemnation began.
The tourist group visited the village of Yazlık in the Maçka region, dancing in their traditional clothes and staged a play celebrating Kalandar that they said was a Greek tradition.
The debate started after some locals wrote letters to local dailies stating the Greeks were promoting their culture and conducting missionary activities. The Greek tourists returned to Istanbul after the festivities. One opinion published in a local daily read: "We will of course show traditional Turkish hospitality to them. However, we should not be deceived by the missionary activities of such groups."
The muhtar, or village head, of Yazlık, Turgut Yılmaz, said some people were trying to exaggerate what happened. "Nothing adverse happened. The governor’s office and the local gendarmerie knew the group was here. They just had fun and then they left. They stayed around for three hours. I was not bothered and I do not think anyone else in the village was either," he said.
Maçka Mayor Ertuğrul Genç, from the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, said the matter was nothing to exaggerate.
"Maçka is home to many monasteries, including Sumela. It is perfectly normal for tourists from all around the world to visit. Americans, Israelis and Russians come here. Only when the Greeks do things does it get blown out of proportion," Genç said.
He said Turkey was a self-confident nation and that he did not understand why people were scared. "Thousands of Catholics visit İzmir (in western Turkey) every year. Do those who live there become Christian?"
He said there were certain sensitivities in the region, but added: "Every security issue is taken up by officials. We need to focus on generating tourism and utilizing our resources."
Kalandar is the name of festivities to celebrate the new year according to the Gregorian calendar by people in Turkey’s Black Sea region.
While there are some variances among regions in the Black Sea, in Trabzon on the morning of Kalandar, one person from each household gets up early to sprinkle water around the house and boil corn to feed the children.
People believe angels visit their homes on the morning of Kalandar and that is why they open all the windows and doors during the day. Children at night sing and dance, and go around collecting sweets.
Some people wear scary outfits, especially of Karakoncolos, a terrifying looking, but harmless genie, to frighten children.
The Kalandar tradition is a centuries old tradition and some say it was a tradition of Orthodox Christian Greeks who returned to Greece in the population exchange earlier last century. It is seen as the Anatolian version of Halloween.
Soon after the photos of the 60 Greek tourists, who came Jan. 2 to celebrate Kalandar, appeared in the local newspapers, letters of criticism and condemnation began.
The tourist group visited the village of Yazlık in the Maçka region, dancing in their traditional clothes and staged a play celebrating Kalandar that they said was a Greek tradition.
The debate started after some locals wrote letters to local dailies stating the Greeks were promoting their culture and conducting missionary activities. The Greek tourists returned to Istanbul after the festivities. One opinion published in a local daily read: "We will of course show traditional Turkish hospitality to them. However, we should not be deceived by the missionary activities of such groups."
The muhtar, or village head, of Yazlık, Turgut Yılmaz, said some people were trying to exaggerate what happened. "Nothing adverse happened. The governor’s office and the local gendarmerie knew the group was here. They just had fun and then they left. They stayed around for three hours. I was not bothered and I do not think anyone else in the village was either," he said.
Maçka Mayor Ertuğrul Genç, from the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, said the matter was nothing to exaggerate.
"Maçka is home to many monasteries, including Sumela. It is perfectly normal for tourists from all around the world to visit. Americans, Israelis and Russians come here. Only when the Greeks do things does it get blown out of proportion," Genç said.
He said Turkey was a self-confident nation and that he did not understand why people were scared. "Thousands of Catholics visit İzmir (in western Turkey) every year. Do those who live there become Christian?"
He said there were certain sensitivities in the region, but added: "Every security issue is taken up by officials. We need to focus on generating tourism and utilizing our resources."