Students and faculty attended the annual Turkish Food Festival yesterday afternoon. The traditional Turkish food, culture and folk dance gave the Hughes-Trigg Ballroom an upbeat feeling when the Turkish Student Association sponsored its annual event.
They served an array of tasty foods promoting Fadi’s Mediterranean Grill located on Knox Street. The healthy entrees consisted of grilled Mediterranean chicken, baked potatoes, rice and pitas. While everyone ate, a movie played on a projector and scrolled “Turkey Welcomes You” across the screen. It showed the beautiful scenic views of the regions of Turkey. Majestic music animated the video as it scanned through scenes of the countryside, mountainside and highlights of the Turkish culture.
After everyone enjoyed the meal, the folk dance began. Mary Kocatürk returned for her ninth year dancing at SMU for the festival to perform traditional folk dances for the audience. Kocatürk dressed in a traditional brightly colored outfit with coin-like decorations.
The other two male dancers dressed in black with a colorful stripped cloth belt and hat. The first dance called the Harvest Dance originated in the Idioma Region of Turkey. It represented the solidarity between the men and women working together in the fields of Turkey.
The motions of the dance looked like the men were chopping down tall plants and the women were throwing seeds for planting and bringing the men water in metal genie-like bottles. For the second dance, Kocatürk wore an elegant red satin skirt with a vest lined in gold. Kocatürk said the dance represented courtship and commented that, “It is similar to Greenville Avenue these days,” meaning that this is how the men show off their masculinity to the women.
The audience laughed as they participated in the last dance. They performed a shoulder-hold dance moving from the left to the right while they kicked their legs. Both of the dances represented the way of life in Turkey.
The Turkish Student Association, established in 2000, is a multicultural organization on campus which promotes awareness and appreciation of the Turkish culture. It organizes activities to provide a better understanding of Turkey and also assist new Turkish students to adapt to the new university environment.
One of the hosts of the festival, Abdullah Kumas said, “We are trying to promote the Turkish culture, food and dance and we are grateful to SMU for providing up with this opportunity.”
