The Turkish holiday resort of Antalya hosted its first ever folk festival during early December this year.

Following on from the success of Antalya's first International Choir Festival that took place during November, the same organisers are promoted a Folk Festival between the 2nd and 6th of December.

The organiser's aims were to bring together groups from different cultures, languages and religions to celebrate dance, music and other forms of artistic performance. Groups from all over the world were invited to participate. This was a non-competitive event that simply aimed to bring together choirs, orchestras and dance ensembles for a festival of education and social interaction. The participating groups were expected to provide different performances for audiences of festival participants and the general public. There was also a selection of invited guests and folklore specialists to help bring the festival to life.

Turkey has a rich culture that stems from thousands of years worth of history and participants were able to experience that by visiting many of the areas of special interest within the town and surrounding areas. These include Antalya's old city and marina, the Duden Waterfall and the town's open-air museum.

Other suggested excursions for anyone travelling to Antalya include visiting the nearby mountain villages, the ancient cities of Perge, Phaselis or Myra and the remarkable Roman Amphitheatre of Aspendos. The local bazaar in Antalya is also an interesting place to visit.

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