Turkish folklore : In Turkey, folklore studies began at the beginning of the 20th century. Today these activities are continued in various university faculties.
Sword Shield : The Sword and Shield Dance of Bursa represents
the Ottoman conquest of the city. It is performed
by men only, dressed in early Ottoman battle
dress, who dance to the sound of clashing swords and shields without music.
Zeybek Dances: In this Aegean dance,
colorfully dressed male dancers, called "Efe", symbolize courage and heroism. Zeybek dances are various about 150 types, however they can be gathered into two main classification
Karagöz & Hacivat is a Turkish shadow play taking its name from its main character Karagöz. The origin of the shadow plays is accepted as southeastern part of Asia around Java.
Nasreddin Hodja : Nasreddin Hoca was born in 1208 in Hortu village near town Sivrihisar (near Afyon) in the west part of Central Anatolia. He served as Kadi, Muslim judge, from time to time till 1284 which is the date of his death.
Whirling Dervishes : Known to the west as Whirling Dervishes, the members of the Mevlevi
Order (named for their founder Mevlana) from
Konya lived
in what we might call coisters or monasteries
Horon : This Black Sea dance is performed by
men only, dressed in black with silver trimmings. The dancers link arms
and quiver to the vibrations of the kemence,
a primitive type of violin.
Spoon game : The Spoon Dance is performed from Konya to Silifke and consists of gaily dressed male and female dancers clicking out the dance rhythm with a pair of wooden spoons in each hand.
