Turkey aims to promote Hakkari town's tourism through traditional Kurdish dance

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Local authorities in the Kurdish province of Hakkari (Colemerg) in southeastern Turkey have begun preparations to promote the tourism sector in one of the province's key towns through traditional Kurdish dance.

Yuksekova (Gever) district in Hakkari is home to a large number of tourist attractions.

In recent years, Gever district's tourist administration has tried to attract tourists to this region through massive investments in the sector.

This year's tourism promotion was done through the traditional dance of the city's countryside.

The dance was performed by a group of male and female students wearing colorful and traditional Kurdish clothing with some of them playing daf.

"We have come to introduce our dances," Rojbin Kara, a student, said. "We want everyone to know our dances and our culture, and that our countryside is very beautiful."

Promotional activities of Gever district are carried out by the tourism department in coordination with Gever's Public Education Center.

The promotional activities are done also to prevent Gever's ancient culture from being lost and marginalized.

Muhsin Renda, a teacher at Gever's Public Education Center said people should be familiarized with the city's culture.

"Unfortunately, many times the new generation performs other dances at weddings. We want them to know our traditions and culture," he noted. 

Around 100,000 tourists visit Hakkari province every year with the bulk of them coming from the Kurdistan Region and the Kurdish areas of western Iran (Rojhelat).