Evliya Çelebi Celebration a Resounding Success
The commemorative event of the 400th anniversary of Evliya Çelebi's birth took place at Bilkent Concert Hall on the evening of Tuesday, March 22. The program entitled "Evliya Çelebi in Ankara on the Quadricentennial of His Birth" started with a talk titled "Eminent Traveler and Literary Genius Evliya Çelebi," which was delivered to an audience of more than 500 by the prominent Turkologist Prof. Semih Tezcan and was followed by a presentation (with slides) on "Evliya Çelebi's Ankara" by Dr. Nuran Tezcan. Both Tezcans, members of Bilkent's Department of Turkish Literature, are leading Evliya Çelebi experts.
The second part of the evening's program featured the 65-member Turkish Classical Music Chorus of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, conducted by Dr. Cumhur Koca, in a concert consisting of 16 instrumental pieces and songs composed in the 17th century. The opening and closing selections were premiered at Bilkent four centuries after they were composed.
The audience that included former ministers, ambassadors, and the Secretary General of the Presidential Office gave the lectures and the concert a tremendous ovation.