"Ciftetelli" Dancers from Austin

"Ciftetelli" is a very very old traditional Istanbul dance according to some historians. Therefore, it is common also in the Greek tradition. Raindrop Turkevi, the Turkish Cultural Center, managed bringing these young non-professional dancer from Austin to perform during the Turkish Festival, officially known as Turkic Cultures and Children's Festival, and you can watch them on youtube.com

Halay in Houston Turkish Festival 2007

During the Turkish Festival 2007, organized by Raindrop Turkevi, Children and spectators loved the Turkish folk dance performance by some young people from Arkansas and then they and the dancers played halay, a traditional Turkish folk dance, in front of the stage.
You may watch them at youtube.com

Houston Turkish Festival 2007 on Ebru TV

Houston Turkish Festival 2007, officially known as TurkicFest 2007, was on EbruTV news.
Ebru TV was one the main sponsors of the festival and is going to send two festival attendees to Turkey for free.
Here is the copy of the video at youtube.com

Houston Turkish Festival on Azerbaijani News

The Houston Turkish Festival organized by Raindrop Turkevi, was on the The Azerbaijan News Agency (APA)

You can read the news just by clicking here.

Houston Turkish Festival: Artists' Meeting Place

"Ebru, Hat, Tezhip." These words may not be that familiar to you or they just may conjure memories of the Lion King and phrases like "Hakuna matata." But for three artists like Mr. Osman Kanlioglu, Mr. Ozkhan Alagoz, and Mr. Mehmet Gursoy from Turkey, they capture the imagination of old world artistry mixed with an eastern traditional element. The Turkic Cultures and Children's Festival , organized by Raindrop Turkevi Turkish Cultural Center in Houston, gave the gentlemen the opportunity of a life time - an unforgettable opportunity to share their skills with the throngs of people who curiously stopped by to gaze upon the formation of surreal artistry.
"It is unbelievable what he does," exclaimed Mr. Robert Hekimian of Austin TX as he looked on Mr. Alagoz's talent. "I wish I could do that too."

Ottoman Army in Houston

Houston’s City Hall hosted for the first time in its history the historical Ottoman Military Band (Mehter) during the weekend of September 8-9, 2007. The famous military band performed during the two day long Turkic Cultures and Children’s Festival in Houston after visiting several Texas cities, e.g. Austin , Dallas , San Antonio , and College Station , since September 1st, 2007. While there were more than 7,000 spectators during their performance in Downtown-Houston, including other cities, about 11,000 Texans enjoyed watching and listening to them.

Before leaving the stage, “mehteranbasi” (the leader of the mehter) expressed his gratitude to the volunteers who organized the festival and said that “our hearts are conquered by the hospitality and respect shown to us.”

Ayna : Turkish Rock in Downtown Houston

"I do not understand the words but the rhythm is amazing." said Carla Neil, a 17 year old high school student from Sugar Land TX, while dancing with her Turkish friends during the "Ayna" concert at Turkic Cultures and Children's Festival.
Turkish Rock/Pop band Ayna gave two concerts during the festival in Downtown- Houston in front of the City Hall. The famous band's singer Erhan Guleryuz was ecstatic over just how amazingly enthusiastic the crowd of Houstonians were during the concerts.