Children’s day celebrated at Turkish institute in South Africa with performances

By Hassan Isilow

Smiles and laughter filled the faces of children Tuesday as they attended a Karagöz-Hacivat play, a traditional Turkish puppet show, held to commemorate National Sovereignty and Children's Day in Johannesburg.

Children were hosted at the event organized by the Turkish cultural center -- the Yunus Emre Institute.

“Children and parents who came to the institute today witnessed enjoyable moments with performances from Turkish musical stars as they watched the puppet show,” Abdulaziz Yigit, director of the Yunus Emre Institute told Anadolu.

Yigit said the institute held performances at different schools as part of the Children’s Day commemorations from Sunday, reaching an audience of 2,500 children.

The final event was held Tuesday on the institute premises where children joined the Karagöz-Hacivat puppet in making workshops.

“It was very enjoyable. Some of the Turkish musical stars who flew into the country entertained guests with songs by Cem Karaca, Barış Manço and Aşık Veysel,” said Yigit.

Former South African first lady Gugu Motlanhte was the guest of honor at the institute.

In Türkiye, Children’s Day is celebrated with schoolchildren taking seats in parliament for the day and symbolically governing the country.

Every year, Türkiye hosts an international children’s festival and invites children from around the world.

Two artists were invited from Türkiye to perform the Karagöz Shadow Play.