Kamil Pasha

Photos are by Jenny White

May 6 is the Hidrellez holiday. Some believe it to be an Islamic holiday, others a pre-Islamic, pre-Christian spring festival. It is a celebration of nature; the first spring lamb is eaten. The night of Hidrellez (tonight) brings blessings, so one custom is to leave your purse open if you want your wealth to increase, or to put small models of what you desire (a house, a car) outside beneath a rose bush. Since 2000 Hidrellez has been celebrated with a festival in Ahirkapi (below Sultanahmet, by the Byzantine city wall) with traditional food, beer and wine, and Romani gypsy bands on the stage or musicians walking through the dancing crowds playing their instruments, much like they do in New Orleans. People made Hidrellez wishes and tied them to pieces of cloth attached to the side of a special wall, perhaps with a note or a drawing pinned to it. The wall was covered with thousands of strips of cloth.

There were so many people there, the crush was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I couldn’t help thinking of the people crushed during panics — for long periods I was literally unable to move in any direction. Yet people were good-natured. Some steered small children and baby carriages through the throng. People danced and were happy. Young women wore roses in their hair. Old ladies sat in clusters at the side and clapped and made the motions of dancing.

It was a lovely, joyous, very traditional Turkish festival in a country where increasingly the isolation of the shopping mall and the TV have replaced public fun. During Ottoman times in Istanbul, spectacles and entertainments were common. This must have been the spirit of it. I couldn’t help but feel sad for the imminent destruction of the ancient Romani musical culture which was so clearly on display tonight. They played and danced their hearts out and the crowds loved them.

Tags: Culture, Istanbul //