Turkish culture and arts promoted in Bonn

Tuesday, June 17, 2008BONN - Anatolia News Agency

A festival organized in the German city of Bonn to introduce modern Turkish art called "Bienal Bonn 2008 Boğaziçi Festivali" (Biennial Bonn 2008 Bosporus Festival) got underway yesterday.

Biennial Bonn 2008 is being held to introduce Turkish modern theater, dance, music, literature, film and art to residents of the city.

During the festival, which will run through June 22, 12 theater plays, seven dance performances, five literature conferences in the evenings, four entertainment programs and also many film screenings, exhibitions and panels will be organized.

At the opening ceremony, which took place in Bonn Opera House, Zülfü Livaneli, author and musician who made a speech in the presence of Bonn's Mayor Helmut Josten, said he was actually planning to attend the funeral of the famous writer Cengiz Aytmatov, who died last week, but he attended the opening of the biennial ceremony because he had made a promise to come.

Livaneli, pointing out that Turkey always bears toward the West not East, said he was so excited to be in Bonn, Beethoven's birth place. �I wonder what Beethoven would say if he could wake up and visit operas and theaters, and what would he say if he could have seen the success of the Turkish people. It is not an easy thing for a country to reflect her own spirit to the world,� said Livaneli.

Festival director, Stephen Kopetzky, emphasized that they invited Turkey to the festival thinking that Turkey would bring a novel touch to Europe and said, �We successfully introduced New York in 2004 and India in 2006. �In Biennial Bonn Festival 2008 we gave a place to Turkey and for that I went to Turkey seven times to prepare this event and I wandered around national theaters one by one and invited the best plays here.�

Inform,17.06.08