Hungarian-Turkish cultural season under way in Turkiye

As well as works by Liszt and Bartok, the orchestra played pieces by Turkish composer Adnan Saygun in the Ataturk Cultural Centre in Istanbul.

Peter Hoppal, government commissioner in charge of the Hungarian-Turkish cultural season, said in his welcoming speech that one hundred Hungarian cultural programmes are getting under way as part of a celebration of the centenary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

In parallel, Turkish cultural artefacts will be shown in Hungary throughout the year.

Judit Hammerstein, acting director of the Hungarian National Museum, opened the exhibition of Hungarians who built Turkiye at the Istanbul concert hall, a show that will be presented in several Turkish cities.

The programmes of the cultural season offer a taste of almost every genre of Hungarian culture in Turkiye, from an exhibition of the collection of the National Bank of Hungary to performances by the Gyor Ballet, the Hungarian National Theatre, photographic shows mounted by the Capa Centre, and science conferences.

The cultural season opened in Budapest on Dec 18 last year, on the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President Katalin Novak and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.