{"id":26626,"date":"2026-02-16T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/cultural-treasures-of-turkey-inscribed-on-the-unesco-intangible-cultural-heritage-list\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T16:25:45","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T13:25:45","slug":"cultural-treasures-of-turkey-inscribed-on-the-unesco-intangible-cultural-heritage-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.turkishairlines.com\/en\/cultural-treasures-of-turkey-inscribed-on-the-unesco-intangible-cultural-heritage-list\/","title":{"rendered":"Cultural elements from T\u00fcrkiye inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Art of Meddah<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Meddah,
Meddah, a traditional performance art in Turkish theater.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Meddahlik, performed by a single story teller, is among the few traditional Turkish drama and theatre forms to have survived to the present. A Meddah, usually holding a cane and a handkerchief, tells stories through impersonations and animated scenes. Stories told are usually improvised depending on the political and social events of the period, as well as the profile of the audience. The Meddah taps the cane in his hand on the ground to produce sound effects during the course of the performance. The cane is also used to represent objects and creatures appearing in the story. Since the art of the Meddah is an oral tradition, few scripts of Meddah performances from the past have survived to today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The art of the Meddah tradition was included on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mevlevi Semah Ceremony<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Semah
Semah ceremony as a Mevlevi tradition<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A form of Sufi ceremony, a Mevlevi Semah Ceremony symbolizes the path to God. Although the ceremony is today performed under detailed rules according to certain religious themes, it was practiced without any rules at the time of Mevl\u00e2n\u00e2 Cel\u00e2ledd\u00een R\u00fbmi. The rules of the ceremony took their final form during the period of Pir Adil \u00c7elebi and have remained until today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mevlevi Semah Ceremony is performed in accompany of Mevlevi music. A ceremony comprises the following sections: eulogy to the Prophet Mohammed, ney (reed flute) transition, overture, Devr-i Veled\u00ee, or Era of Sultan Veled (circumambulation), and four salutes. From start to end, the ceremony takes place with symbols bearing mystical meanings. Whirling represents watching Allah from all directions. Foot tapping expresses resisting to and struggling with the desires of the ego. Turning the palm of the left hand up and the right hand down means receiving abundance from Allah and distributing it to the world. The Mevlevi Semah Ceremony was inscribed in 2008 on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00c2\u015f\u0131kl\u0131k (Minstrelsy) Tradition<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"A\u015f\u0131kl\u0131k
\u00c2\u015f\u0131kl\u0131k (minstrelsy), a cultural heritage from Anatolia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One of the arts where we can best see Anatolian cultural heritage is without doubt the \u00e2\u015f\u0131kl\u0131k (minstrelsy) tradition. Those artists who can recite poems, tell stories and engage in oral duels of wit by sticking to the essentials of the tradition, often accompanied by the saz, a stringed musical instrument, are called \u00e2\u015f\u0131k (minstrel) and the tradition itself is called \u00e2\u015f\u0131kl\u0131k (minstrelsy). As a versatile and rich art, \u00e2\u015f\u0131kl\u0131k reflects the daily living practices and ethical and aesthetic values of the period. Most known types of the \u00e2\u015f\u0131kl\u0131k tradition are At\u0131\u015fma (Oral Duel of Wit) and Leb De\u011fmez (No Touching of Lips), though they take different names from region to region. In At\u0131\u015fma, at least two \u00e2\u015f\u0131ks try to outwit each other by uttering witticisms before the audience. In Leb De\u011fmez, with a pin between their lips, the \u00e2\u015f\u0131k recites poems without using certain letters of the alphabet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tradition of \u00c2\u015f\u0131kl\u0131k was included on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nevruz (Nowruz)<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"A
A woman dressed in traditional garb and Nevruz celebrations. <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Also called Nevruz-i Sultan, Sultan Nevruz, Y\u0131lsr\u0131, Navr\u0131z, Newroz, March Nine, Solstice and Noruz; Nevruz is celebrated in many regions from Central Asia to Anatolia, from the Caucasus to the Balkans and it is kind of a New Year celebration. Celebrated by rural communities engaged in farming and animal husbandry, and usually on March 21, Nevruz rituals express a wish for increased affluence and abundance. Regarded as the arrival of spring, Nevruz also symbolizes rebirth and expresses hopes and expectations for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The oral culture and rituals of Anatolia have a significant place in Nevruz celebrations. Houses and streets are cleaned beforehand, and people participating in the celebrations wear clean clothes. The decorating of streets, flying kites, egg tapping games, and leaping over a bonfire are the most characteristic rituals of the Nevruz celebrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevruz was included on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Karag\u00f6z<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Karag\u00f6z
Karag\u00f6z and Hacivat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Also called the shadow theatre, Karag\u00f6z is a performance art wherein human, animal and inanimate object cutouts, attached to the tip of sticks, are animated on a screen usually made of water buffalo skin, on which a light is cast from behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rumor has it that Karag\u00f6z and Hacivat, the principal characters of the show, were executed by the order of the Ottoman Sultan of the time, on the grounds that they disrupted the progress of the construction of a mosque. Later, a man named Sheikh K\u00fc\u015fteri, seeing that the Sultan regretted his decision, hit upon the idea of animating the figures of Hacivat and Karag\u00f6z on a screen. It is believed that this incident is the beginning of the art of Karag\u00f6z. Those curious about this incident might enjoy the 2006 movie \u2018Hacivat Karag\u00f6z Neden \u00d6ld\u00fcr\u00fcld\u00fc?\u2019 (Why Was Hacivat Karag\u00f6z Killed?), directed by Ezel Akay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karag\u00f6z is a comedic play based on the duel of wit and amusing dialogs between the characters on the screen. Karag\u00f6z, being a tactless and uneducated character, cannot understand, or else misunderstands what the other characters say, picking fights with them throughout the play. This makes the Karag\u00f6z show a highly entertaining traditional art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karag\u00f6z was included on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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