Turkish food & music with an Indian twist

An ‘Indo Turkish Cultural Extravaganza’ was held at Taramati Baradari on Sunday which was a cultural rendezvous with art, music and cuisine. The food had traditional Turkish recipes like Kebabs and Baklava sweet prepared by renowned Turkish Chef Abdullah, who is the head chef at Ala Turka Doner Kebab with 30 years experience.

The festival also infused cultural elements with soulful Sufi dances performed by Serkan Kamaci and his group ‘Zuhurat’. A splendid flute performance by ‘Neyzen’ with authentic Sufi flute (made of reed cane) left the crowd spell-bound. This was followed by a special instrumental performance by Gulbey Caliskan, Ahmet Sezgin, Aykut Sezgin, Muhammet Duzcan and Ugur Kokdemir. Any cultural event of Turkey is never complete without a display of the Turkish Calligraphy.

A selection of Indian folk numbers was also played to bring in the desi tadka to the festival.Speaking about the festival, Osman Kayaoglu, director, Hyderabad, Indialogue Foundation, said, “The festival is an effort to display the harmony of both Indian and Turkish culture. The event will showcase the best of Turkish food, dance and music for people to enjoy. The festival is an initiative to spread the message of peace, harmony and brotherhood.”