by
Daniyal Admaney
International Festival 2019 was held on 14 April 2019 with tremendous success and showcased the culture, traditional clothes, attributes, food and performances of 35 different countries arranged primarily by the international students of Bilkent, with the guests of honor including ambassadors and diplomats of the respective Embassies, as well as academic staff of Bilkent University. This year Bilkent International House collaborated with South Asian Cultural Club (SACC) and Erasmus Student Network – Bilkent (ESN Bilkent).
This year’s festival was the biggest in its 4 year history, with a grand total of 35 countries being represented in front of a full house – with almost 900 seats being occupied.
Through surveys conducted, it was concluded that while participants loved every country’s stall at the festival, the representatives of Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan outdid everyone with their amazing decorations and food. Meanwhile, performances such as the Spanish Flamenco Dance, the Azeri National Dance, Pakistani Dance performances and the Rabab & Guitar performance were the highlights of the 5 hour extravaganza.
We would like to thank all of the participants for stalls, performances and spirit that they gave for International Festival, and hope to see all participants and audience members again next year!
The following countries were represented at the festival:
Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Colombia, Costa Rica, Egypt, Ghana, India, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, Palestine, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Venezuela
#IntFest19 fact sheet:
1️⃣This time, for the first ever ever, there were a tremendous 35 number of countries being represented at the festival!
2️⃣For the first time ever, the event had multiple embassies in Ankara taking part or attending the festival including the Spanish, Swiss and Saudi embassies among others!
3️⃣A big part of culture is the food, and apart from the snacks served by us at BIH, the following countries brought their A game with their traditional food. Lebanon, Pakistan, Turkey, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Saudi among others
4️⃣With more countries than ever, this year there were 25 traditional performances with countries such as Jordan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and Peru showcasing their traditional acts!
5️⃣This year, for the very first time, professionals from the Ankara Flamenco Association performed the famous Spanish Flamenco Dance!
6️⃣With support from embassies for majority of the stalls, the stalls were better decorated and had more activities than ever before!
Pictures for the event can be found by clicking here.
Bilkent International House 