HAKKARI, Turkey - People in the Kurdish province of Hakkari (Colemerg) in southeast Turkey demonstrated Kurdish culture and the region’s scenic beauty with traditional clothing and folk dances.
Hakkari hosts a folk dance competition each year with its various districts competing under the supervision of local authorities. This year, 16 teams competed across various categories for the top prize.
"Today, we held our folk dance competition in Hakkari with all federation and school teams. We are here to continue with our 16 teams, aiming to preserve and promote Colemerg’s culture. Our goal is to ensure these ancient and priceless cultural traditions are passed down to future generations and not lost," Sitki Zirek, one of the organizers said.
The traditional dance teams presented a plethora of scenes from Hakkari's rich cultural heritage to the guests. As a result, three teams from Semdinli and Rubarok, three teams from Hakkari, and two teams from Yuksekova (Gever) became champions in their respective categories.