Cappadocia Balloon Festival and Culture

The Balloon Festival and the Cultural Road of Cappadocia, the first phase of the Cultural Road Festivals in Turkey, concluded enthusiastically last Sunday. 1,050,000 people participated in over 300 events that were inaugurated on August 5 with the participation of Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy and held in 40 different locations. At the festival site in Göreme, performers such as Simge Sağın, Madrigal, Douglas, Murat Dalkılıç, Zeynep Salih, Sinan Akçıl, Alişan, Oğuzhan Koç, and Anadolu Ateşi took to the stage. Simultaneously, Kubat, Yavuz Bingöl, and Resul Aydemir gifted unforgettable moments to the people of Nevşehir in the Ürgüp square. Approximately 620,000 attendees visited the concerts held during this festival. Around 65,000 people visited 10 exhibitions featuring works by artists such as Refik Anadol and Durim Erbil. In the children's area established in Avanos, 43,000 children enjoyed colorful competitions and games. During the final two days of the festival, the sky of Cappadocia was adorned with colorful shaped balloons. Hundreds of balloons took to the sky each morning in Cappadocia, including balloons featuring 22 shapes from 12 different countries as part of the festival. The Cultural Road Festivals of Turkey will continue with the Sümela Cultural Road in Trabzon and the Palandöken Cultural Road in Erzurum from August 19 to 27.