The city of Izmit in Turkey, located on the Gulf of the Western Sea of Marmara, is located 100 km from Istanbul, with a population of approximately 400,000. It is a heavily industrialized city, considered to have the highest GDP per capita in Turkey. Historically speaking, it is the ancient city of Nicomedia which, for a while, was even the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.
In this special setting, a cultural-artistic meeting of great interest was held between the World Folklore Union I.G.F and the hosts of the activity – Izmit City Hall and the Turkish Folklore Federation. From the I.G.F, the delegation was led by the president of the Union – prof. Dr. Dorel Cosma, accompanied by the assistant treasurer. Pahone Pop, member of the Executive Office-Robert Laszlo, adviser to the president, cameraman Florin Coșoiu and I.G.F Senator Benito Ripoli.
On behalf of the hosts, we enjoyed the permanent presence of the president of the Turkish Federation – Murrat Hurryiet, the master choreographer Enis Usuntaş, the translator Selen Cicek Ucar and representatives of the Izmit town hall under the leadership of Mrs. Mayor Fatma Hurryiet. With all the burden of the problems of this city the size of Cluj, the mayor found the necessary time to be with our delegation and even to accompany us in visiting some important points. We thus managed to make a formal visit to the Academy of Arts in Izmit, where we met with teaching staff, students, cultural activists. The concern for music, choreography, plastic arts, theater dominates this edifice patronized with great warmth by the mayoress Fatma Hurryiet. Moreover, in this exceptional place it was decided to operate an I.G.F headquarters for the whole of Turkey and for the artistic world of Asia and the East. This branch will be headed by Mr. Murrat Hurryiet, a member of the I.G.F Bureau under the guidance of the president and the I.G.F Executive Bureau and will deal with the expansion and promotion of popular culture in this part of the world.
At the Cultural Center in Izmit, in a hall with over five hundred seats, archipelago, I had the joy and honor of legalizing the I.G.F-Izmit cultural cooperation. On the specially arranged stage, speeches were given in appreciation of popular culture at the local and international level. There were interventions in this sense by the president of I.G.F. Prof. dr. Dorel Cosma and the mayor of Izmit- av. Fatma Hurryiet. A solemn moment was the signing in this framework of the Collaboration Protocol, which will lead to the expansion and promotion of all cultural values in this area in the future. An excellent musical-choreographic show followed, which brought the history of the city of Izmit to the stage, through dance, music and costumes. The entire audience sang and enjoyed this special cultural event, marking a great success of international popular culture.
Special thanks are due to the organizers led by the local authorities of Izmit, under the magic wand of Mrs. Fatma Hurryiet – the mayor of the city. The same good thoughts with thanks and congratulations to our colleagues from the I.G.F.: Murrat Hurryiet – the president of the Turkish Folklore Federation, member of the I.G.F. Executive Board and the master choreographer Enis Ustuntaş – the signatory of the excellent choreography in the Gala performance.
Noted By: Dr.Phd Dorel Cosma
