Bayram cancelled.

Turkish Flag hung outside my flat in preparation for Bayram.

Every year on the 29th October, Cumhuriyet Bayramı is celebrated. It is the Republic Day festival in Turkey. The Folk Dance Department of the State Turkish Music and Dance Conservatoire were due to perform in Kuşadası, a local seaside town. The performance was part of the many celebrations and folk dance events that take place each year on the 29th, all over Turkey. There are several different Bayram's throughout the year, Bayram is the word for a nationally celebrated festival or holiday. 
The dance performance mainly consisted of third and fourth year dance students, and I was invited along to watch the show. The night before the celebrations were due to begin, the Turkish Government announced that all Republic Day celebrations were to be cancelled due to last weeks terrible news of the Earthquake that hit the Eastern Turkey Province, Van. 
Although it is a shame to have to cancel celebrations and performances that much hard work has been put into for several months, I think that the Government chose to do the right thing. Why should everyone be celebrating and having a good time when something so terribly tragic is happening in the very same country? I just hope that all of the money that would have been put into the festivities, now goes to the Earthquake victims. 
The show was supposed to be about an hour long with several different sections representing different events, for example, the rebirth of Ataturk, the women sending their loved ones off to war and the men fighting at war. Even though the performance was cancelled, I still managed to get a little bit of footage during a rehearsal a couple of weeks ago..

Rehearsal footage of the performance to celebrate Bayram.