As Türkiye continues to attract foreigners with its rich cultural heritage and natural beauty, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism launched a new project in 2021 to ensure the sustainability of this attraction by blending the country’s richness with cultural and artistic events: the Türkiye Culture Route Festival. In this festival, not only the cultural and artistic activities but also the venues where these events are held are of great importance. The project also supports many local artists and craftsmen. With these festivals, which are improved each year by addressing previous shortcomings and expanding their scope, citizens now have easier access to high-quality cultural and artistic events.
The launch of the Türkiye Culture Route Festival in Istanbul carries significant meaning. The festival was initiated with the aim of increasing the visibility of Istanbul’s historical sites through cultural and artistic events. While these historical venues have become more prominent, the events held within them have also gained depth, offering visitors a unique and enriched experience. After being launched in Istanbul in 2021, the Culture Route Festival expanded to include Ankara, Çanakkale, Diyarbakır, and Konya in 2022; followed by Nevşehir, Erzurum, Trabzon, Izmir, Gaziantep, and Antalya in 2023. In 2024, Adana, Şanlıurfa, Bursa, Samsun, and Van were added, bringing the total number of participating cities to 16. In 2025, with the inclusion of Kayseri, Manisa, Malatya, and Mardin, the number of host cities rose to 20.
In these festivals, more than 6,000 events featuring over 40,000 artists were organized in 2024 alone, attracting participation from 33 million of the country’s citizens. The Culture Route Festivals are set to become an inseparable part of Turkish citizens’ lives. While the events lasted for around 100 days in 2021, they have expanded to eight months – equivalent to 240 days – in 2025. This year, approximately 45,000 artists will take part in nearly 7,000 events. The festival’s admission into the European Festivals Association has significantly increased its international recognition, attracting art and culture enthusiasts from around the world and encouraging them to visit the country.
These festivals are designed to appeal to all age groups. A look at the festival programs reveals that the inclusion of a “Children’s Village” within the events shows that children have not been forgotten. Young people, in particular, are provided with greater opportunities to engage with traditional arts and cultural heritage, while also enjoying concerts by their favorite artists and attending talks with prominent figures in science, culture, and the arts. As a result, access to cultural and artistic activities is steadily increasing for citizens in the provinces where the festivals are held. Moreover, participation from neighboring cities is also growing each year. Holding the festivals on the same dates annually allows people to plan their visits up to a year in advance. Citizens not only spend higher-quality time through cultural and artistic activities but also enjoy the chance to come together with friends and loved ones.
Through these festivals, not only do the citizens gain closer access to national and international artists, but the artists themselves also have the opportunity to get to know the cities more intimately. In the long run, this enhances both the national and international visibility of these cities, making their historical heritage and natural beauty more prominent. In short, the festivals contribute to the host cities on multiple levels: they increase tourism activity and stimulate the local economy, bringing vitality and recognition to the regions where they are held.
Including international artists in the festival not only enhances its global recognition but also gives citizens the opportunity to experience the works of these artists firsthand. For instance, in 2024, the festival featured several notable exhibitions, such as From Painting to Ceramics: A Journey with Pablo Picasso, which showcased over 80 of Picasso’s works; Genesis by Sebastião Salgado; The Diaries of Frida Kahlo exhibition; and Leonardo da Vinci – The Renaissance Genius. Similarly, concerts by Chris Botti, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, and the Mariinsky Orchestra attracted great attention. In 2025, the exhibition Pablo Picasso: Creation Is Everything is being presented as part of the Van Culture Route Festival, offering art lovers a chance to view 50 of Picasso’s works, including engravings, drawings, posters, lithographs, and photographs.
Palestine cause
On the other hand, special care is taken to organize events within the festival each year to draw attention to the ongoing humanitarian tragedy in Palestine. In this context, for example, in 2024, renowned director Sallam met with film enthusiasts at the event Palestinian Resistance Cinema, introducing audiences to Palestinian cinema. In 2025, the festival features “Palestine Is My Homeland,” a painting exhibition by one of the leading figures of Palestinian art, Nabil Anani. The exhibition offers a visual testimony to the shattered lives of our Palestinian brothers and sisters, the trauma of displacement, and their collective losses.
The exhibition “I Will Not Be Defeated,” showcasing the works of Sliman Mansour, brings the historical memory and culture of resistance in Palestine to viewers. Similarly, the exhibition “I Am Still Alive” by Gazan artist Maisara Baroud conveys the ongoing struggle for life of our Palestinian brothers and sisters. Undoubtedly, such initiatives can significantly contribute to raising awareness and bringing to light the human tragedies faced by our brothers and sisters in different parts of the world – through the soft power of culture and art.
Festivals in terror-free Türkiye
As Türkiye has recently emerged as a strong actor both in its region and globally, it has launched a major initiative – terror-free Türkiye – to reinforce national unity and stability in support of this role. This initiative has created an opportunity and a platform to further strengthen internal peace and bring together the contributions of all the citizens. It is essential that this opportunity be supported across all fields, and culture will undoubtedly play a central role in this process.
In this context, we are now witnessing the Ministry of Culture and Tourism implementing an important project under the theme Culture and Tourism in a terror-free Türkiye. Expanding the provincial reach of the Culture Route Festival and incorporating deeper, more meaningful events within this framework will make a significant contribution to this broader national effort.
In summary, the Türkiye Culture Route Festival creates significant dynamism in the cities where it is held by appealing to a wide audience through a rich variety of cultural events, art exhibitions, music performances, theater, and other artistic activities. It also enhances the visibility of Türkiye’s historical and cultural heritage. Moreover, the participation of numerous international artists and attendees contributes to the global recognition of the festival. As a result, despite being just a four-year-old project, the Türkiye Culture Route Festival has already become an international brand.
