You will witness the unique meeting of nature and history; Aydin is a unique geography where you can enjoy the taste and entertainment. Aydin is one of the holiday choices of millions of people with its heroic stories, Efes, figs, olives, delicious food and fresh air.
These local people have left their mark of festivities, entertainment and happiness since ancient times.
For example the rock paintings in the Latmos (Besparmak) mountains difference from other rock paintings in the world is the people living there have drawn pictures of festivals, ceremonies and happiness.
The city of Dionysus, the God of ancient times wine, entertainment and pleasant times, is in this land.
In addition, the famous traveler Evliya Celebi from the 16th century described the people of Aydin as ‘freeliver, happy and festival lover’
In short, the people of Aydin have had fun, festivals, pleasant times and happiness for centuries.
Undefeated Efes at the field of contest, Aegean folk songs, grapes, grape juice, fresh figs, olives, camel wrestling, festivals are indispensable of Aydin culture.
Especially festivals are celebrated with great enthusiasm.
If you want to participate in festivals with different themes that are followed with great interest from outside of Aydin, the following information is for you. More detailed information can be found in the district section of our website…
Camel breeding and camel wrestling are an important part of Aydin’s culture.
It often held in Incirliova, Germencik, Yenipazar, Kuyucak, Buharkent, Kosk, Karpuzlu and Kocarli districts. Camel wrestling is also called”tulle”wrestling by the public which is animated with concerts and various activities.
Camels from Canakkale, Balıkesir, Denizli, Antalya and Izmir regions participate in camel wrestling which organized every year. Mostly the same camels are taken to these different races by their owners. Thereby, both camels and their owners recognize each other from other races. Accommodation and other needs of camel owners who come from out of town are usually met by the hosts, crafts and the public.
The night before the wrestling is called “Carpet Night and there are all kinds of entertainment and food. The carpet night is attended by local artists and after the entertainments the carpets are sold with interesting figures.
In the morning, people go to the racing area with drum-zurna. Each camel wrestles with competitors in its category, and the owners of the winner camels are rewarded with money and carpets.
Culture is the sum of values that make a nation a nation. The most important elements of culture are the customs and traditions that have a history of thousands of years.The richest cultural values, traditions and customs of Turks, one of the oldest living tribes, have spread all over the world in Central Asia.The traditional “Dedebagi Keskek Hayri which has been going on since the first day when the Turks came to Anatolia and left their mark is made in Karacasu district of Aydin. Worth seeing, “Dedebagi Keskek Hayri” is based on voluntary method and is an activity in which dozens of boilers are boiled.KESKEK is a traditional dish of mainly wheat and meat, which is on UNESCO’s ”intangible cultural heritage” list. Local people flock to preparations starting from the night in the early hours of the morning. Every year around the beginning of the cauldrons of boiling influx of visitors come to Turkey. Keskek is served, chats, fusion, friendship and neighborhood relations are strengthened.
One of Aydin’s viable cultures, our old and precious activity Keskek Hayri which was made 737th time in 2019.
There are 50-60 thousand pistachio trees in Yenipazar district and they are sent to other provinces. It is arranged in order to draw attention to the Pistachio which is a gift of Aydin’s fertile soil.
The festival is held in the neighborhood of Hacikoseler, where the pistachio is produced most intensively.
The festival is held in the Hacıköseler where the pistachio is produced most intensively. Pistachios grown in our district throughout the year and we distribute to the participants and make entertainments.
Turkey’s first vegan festival is held in the famous Didim district of Aydin where is known with its fresh air. It is a very special event with a vegan village focused on vegan and vegetarian nutrition. The event, which takes place in a very different atmosphere than the other examples in the world, is a festival where local tastes are more prominent than industrial vegan products. The festival, which is located next to the historical Temple of Apollo, attracts many local and foreign participants.
Yörüklük, which is one of the most important cultural values of our province, is organized to live and present our culture. Every year on the first Sunday of May, we have many concerts, folk dance performences with the activities. We dish out keskek and rice.
Remembrance programs have been implemented for 20 years. It is organized to commemorate the first pressure of Yoruk Ali Efe and his friends, who were the leaders in the national struggle for the liberation of the homeland, and transfer them to future generations.
Soke district is organized to attract attention to the eel which is one of the most delicious flavors you can taste, caught by the fishermen of the Sercin Neighborhood on the Bafa Lake. What makes eel interesting is the miraculous oil cycle. In our country, the eel, mostly found in Lake Bafa, takes a journey of approximately 6,000 kilometers towards the Sargasso Sea in the Gulf of Mexico, like all the fish in the world, to mate when it becomes an adult adolescent.
This eel, which has an interesting life story, is organized every year in March to promote the natural beauties of the region. Thousands of guests are offered grilled eel with high protein value.
In our Buharkent district of Aydin, which is one of the richest district in citrus and fig production, fig production is more important among other products. The best quality thin shelled figs of Aydin region grow in this region. This festival is organized in order to support and encourage fig production, as well as to preserve and promote our cultural values and to announce the name of the district to the world.
The pitta bread of Yenipazar district is famous throughout our country. It is a festival that aims to promote the public market where various kinds of pitta breads cooked by skilled cooks in the district and sell them.
It is organized in order to promote the fig product that gives its name to our district and to meet the needs of the district people for social and cultural activities. The most interesting event of the festivalis the best dried fig competition which is held in the first week of September every year.
The famous names of the literature world are hosted in Soke and Didim.In Didim, the first 2 weeks of August each year, and in the last week of October in Söke, our national writers meet with their readers in these cultural events.
The festival includes local and foreign participants from 13 different countries which has been organized for 47 years. The festival is of great importance for the promotion of both Sultanhisar and Nysa which lasts three days. Within the festival, events such as exhibitions, fairgrounds, national and international folk dance performances, beauty contests, theater and folk concerts are held.
The festival, which is held in the town of Kocarli, famous with its pine nuts and it held every year at the end of May. The festival starts with folk dances and city tours and continues with concerts. In addition to concerts, a picnic is held in the shade of pine nuts trees in the Yigintas picnic area.
This festival aims to introduce Alinda Ancient City and Karpuzlu and to contribute them to the country tourism and district people.
The annual festival in Germencik district of Aydin aims to promote the best quality figs in the world and make the participants enjoy themselves. In this context, concerts, competitions, shows, local and foreign groups folk dance activities are performed.
It is a youth festival full of music held in every year in summer. Love Beach in Davutlar is an event where participants can stay in tents. Throughout the festival, different artists take the stage at different times and blend the rhythm of entertainment with the rhythm of music, wiping the ears of the listeners. It is a highly anticipated festival in which young people, especially during the winter months, search the festival history and try to get their tickets.