A STUDENT

CULTURAL GUIDE

TO SIX EUROPEAN

PROVINCES

A Taste Of Different CulturesRediscovering our local traditions within a European framework

Comenius Multilateral School Partnership 2013-2015Final Product:

“A student cultural guideto six European provinces”

“We cannot aim at anything less than the Union of Europe asa whole, and we look forward with confidence to the day

when that Union will be achieved.“

- Winston Churchill

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Gyulai Alapfokú Közoktatási Intézmény 5. sz. Általános Iskola ésSportiskola Tagintézmény, Gyula, Hungary

Herzog-Christian-August-Gymnasium, Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Germany

Instituto de Educación Secundaria Ramón Giraldo,Villanueva de los Infantes, Spain

Istituto Secondario di Primo Grado "Virgilio", Paternò, Italy

Orta Okulu, Vezirköprü, Turkey

Miejskich nr 1, Poland

Oymaağaç

Zespół Szkół Kędzierzyn-Koźle,

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“The Taste of Different Cultures”

We are separated by lands and seaswe may differ by our believes

but we hold hands and sing together:be friends forever, be friends forever!

We want no violence, no terrorismwe want to live in a safe world and peace,

so hold the hands and sing together:be friends forever, be friends forever!

CHORUS:

We've made some friends, we saw the countriesWe've learnt the language, tasted different cultures

We've played a lot and laughed togetherSo let's keep our friendship forever. 2x

We've made some friends, we saw the countriesWe've learnt the language, tasted different cultures

We've played a lot and laughed togetherSo let's keep our friendship forever. 2x

We are friends…

Music: Danuta BanasikLyrics: Jadwiga Górniak

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Introduction 6Paternò, Italy 7Villanueva de los Infantes, Spain 17

Poland 26Sulzbach Rosenberg, Germany 34Gyula, Hungary 48Vezirköprü, Turkey 56

Kędzierzyn-Koźle,

Table of Contents

"To remain ignorant of things that happened before you were born is toremain a child." This quote by Cicero illustrates the importance that hasto be placed on traditions and cultural heritage. We today live in a fast-paced environment, in a world that we could describe as dominated bynew technologies and constant change. As much as we value this, wecannot leave aside traditions, the little details which have contributed todesign and shape the cultural heritage of each nation. Local celebrationsare a living reminder of those traditions. They show us how the peoplelived in the past and what they believed in. Thus, we believe that localcelebrations are effective ways of preserving the national or localidentity. The problem is that students nowadays don't really knowanymore why we celebrate a special day, why people wear specialcostumes when dancing, why they sing traditional songs or why they eattypical food on a special day. We are, however, convinced that thesetraditions indicate the deep roots of national or local cultures. We cankeep alive our cultural heritage by these celebrations and transfer themto the next generations in order to preserve our own culture.Nevertheless, as teachers, we have the duty to not just educate ourchildren within a national framework, but also within a European one.The European Commission wants to integrate different countries withina political union. In no way should this be equated with losing acountry's own identity. It rather builds on the idea that we are united bysimilarities and our differences are considered an asset to the Europeancommunity. In order for our students to understand this, they had tofind out about their national traditions first, before they could investi-gate other cultures and learn about their similarities and value thedifferences. This was one of the main objectives of our project: to showand teach students from different countries the customs and traditionsthat contribute to a nation's cultural heritage. We wanted our studentsto become tourists with open eyes during the mobilities in order to takein the atmosphere of the local celebration and culture. It would givethem the opportunity to learn about our past and to better understandthe essence of a particular nation. We also wanted them to becometeachers when they were back in their countries so that they could sharethe unique experience they had made with their fellow students. Theproject would therefore encourage them to be active European citizensas “the unity of Europe was at the beginning the dream of a few people.It became the hope for many and is today a necessity for all people”

This book was written by all the students who took part in this wonderfulexperience!

(Conrad Adenauer).

The Coordinators

Introduction

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Catania and its province, also known as “TheEtnea Province”, is one of the largest inSicily. It covers the area all around thevolcano Etna and broadens towards south-east in the plain of Catania crossed by theriver Simeto. The economy of this province isvery lively as there are lots of firms indifferent sectors of production, but the mostimportant is St Microelectronics, because ofwhich the area was named the Etna Valley.Besides nature and economy, the province is also important because itis rich in archeological sites, Greek and Roman, old buildings that testifythe different invasions. Paternò is one of the largest and most importanttowns in the province of Catania. It has almost 50.000 inhabitants and itis 18 kilometers away from Catania. The city lies between the plain ofCatania and Mt. Etna, on the extreme southwest foothills of the volcano,along the Simeto valley. Nearing the town you can see the land coveredwith the green of the citrus fruit, almond and olive trees, and the grey ofthe lava stone. When you reach Paternò the first thing you see is the Hill,now an inactive volcano. It is the oldest part of the town with theNorman Castle, where the queen Blanche of Navarre stayed in 1405, theChurch of “Santa Maria dell'Alto”, the church of “San Francesco allacollina” and the modern Church dedicated to the “Madonna dellaConsolazione”, built by M. Virgillito. Going down the hill you willdiscover the medieval town with the narrow streets, the old buildingsand even The Falconer's Tower, which Frederick II used for the trainingof hawks.At the foot of the hill there is the Baroque Town which starts at PiazzaSanta Barbara where there are three beautiful churches: “SantaBarbara”, “Madonna del Carmine” and the Pantheon. Through ViaMonastero you reach Piazza Indipendenza where there is the 18thcentury Church that we call “Ex Monastero”, inside which you canadmire the “Madonna dell'Idria”, a magnificent oil painting bySofonisba Anguissola. From this square Via Vittorio Emanuele begins.According to 18th century urban criteria, it divides the city into two mainparts. Along this street, tourists can see 18th century, 19th century andLiberty buildings. There are other important monuments to see: theBorbonic Prison, now the Archaeological Museum, the Town Libraryand the 18th century stairway that leads to the church Matrice. Paternòis rich in water. Inside and nearby the city there are many water springs.

Norman Castle

Paternò (Catania)

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The most famous are: the Maimoide spring, the oil water spring rich iniron. Just outside the city it is possible to observe the Salinelle, aphenomenon of secondary volcanism and of course The Road of Mills.This is the old road that leads from the city to the heart of thecountryside where you can see lots of orange orchards and the ruins ofan ancient lively economy: the Old Mills and the Old Paper Mill. Do youwant to know more? Well, come and visit us! We are waiting for you.

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Traditional male costume

Traditional female costume

Traditional costumes are an importantcharacteristic of each territory and localculture. Unfortunately, our town and ourprovince haven't got a traditional costume,but when you come to Sicily you can see acostume that represents all Southern Italy,usually used for festivals, parades, popularparties and to dance tarantella. Moreover, itis usual ly depicted in postcards, handicraftsand other 'tourist merchandise'. Do you wantto know what it is like?The traditional male costume consists of awhite shirt, red bandanna, ribbon or cordwith pompoms on the ends tied around theneck, brown or black vest, brown jacket,usually corduroy, cut like a modern sports coat, knickers, white over theknee stockings, low black shoes, possibly a red sash and either a felt hator red or black stocking cap, the latter being very widespread for men'scostumes around the Mediterranean.The female stylized costume has the colours of the Italian flag. It consistsof a white blouse with wide sleeves, often trimmed with lace, a simpleblack bodice, a kerchief, a full skirt usually in red or green, trimmed withribbons, and a white apron. When we perform at school we usually wear

these costumes and it's always fun! Ofcourse, in the past, everyday clothes werevery different from those we wear today. Ourgrandparents tell us that clothes were relatedto social classes and to province. Eachprovince had different clothes both for highclass and for low class people. Nowadays,you can see these clothes in someanthropological museums of our region. Butif you go to some small inland villages of ourregion you can still see poor old peopledressed like that!

Costumes

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Dance

When you come to Sicily, youwill see people dancing onlyone traditional dance: theTarantella! This is one of themost beloved folk dances ofSouth-Italian Cultures. Itsorigins are not Sicilian. In-deed, it is said to haveoriginated in Naples in theXV century. But everybody inSicily dances the Tarantella!It is the typical dance offestivals, parades, specialoccasions and it is always performed for tourists.Today, you can see the “Tarantella” performed by a solitary couple or in agroup of couples. Do you want to know what the word “Tarantella”means? It means “Tarantula” in Italian. Indeed, it is the dance againstthe spider! The original legend tells the story of a person who had beenbitten by a black widow spider and had to dance to sweat the poison out.But in the courtship version of this dance, the woman uses rapidity andliveliness to excite the love of her partner. In turn, the man tries to charmher with his agility, elegance and demonstrations of tenderness. Thedancers of the “Tarantella” use many musical instruments: “Tricche”,”Ballacche”, ”Nacchere”, ”Tamburelli”, “Tammorre”, and the verycharacteristic “Marranzanu“.As students, we are very good at dancing Tarantella. We are taught howto dance at school and we usually perform on special school occasions,such as the end-of-year party, or when we receive some special guests atschool. In fact, this is what we danced when our Comenius friends cameto visit us.

Tarantella Dance

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Which are the most impor-tant festivities in your city?Our most important festivi-ties are Saint Agatha, SaintBarbara and Carnival.

Saint Agatha is a Christiansaint and martyress. Thefeast of St. Agatha in Cataniais among the most important

Saint Agatha

Sicilian religious feasts. The traditional religious procession with therelics of St. Agatha takes place from 3rd to 5th February. Every year a lotof devotees, pilgrims and also tourists visit the feast in Catania. It isamazing to see the streets of Catania crowded with people, colours,sounds and fireworks. Thousands of people participate every year at thisreligious and folkloristic event, which is hundreds years old. It isimpressive to see the procession of the relics move through Catania andits panorama of baroque churches, roman ruins and modern buildings.

St. Barbara festivity is very important for our town because she is ourpatron saint. It lasts three days (from 3rd to 5th December). On the firstday you can listen to a choir of children who sing typical songs about St.

St. Barbara

Barbara. There are alsofireworks in the principalsquare of Paternò. On thesecond day the statue of St.Barbara is carried aroundtown in procession and itstops in front of everychurch. The feast ends on 5thDecember when there is a bigfirework display with musicvery late at night. If you cometo visit our town we willsurely take you there!

Festivities

Feast of St. Agatha

Feast of St.Barbara

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Carnival

Today in our town Carnival is not celebrated as it was a few years agowhen there were many parades and other pagan celebrations. But westill love the Carnival period because we organise lots of dress-upparties. Now the most important Carnival is in Acireale. In this city it iscelebrated during the whole week before Shrove Tuesday. On thesedays people wear funny dresses and masks. There are also allegoricalfloats in the streets that represent famous people and other subjects.We usually go there with our parents and we have lots of fun!

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Did you know that Sicily was a region ofstorytellers? In our language they arecalled “Cantastorie”. They were artistswho, since the beginning of the 20thcentury, perfected a peculiar way oftelling those stories which had beenorally handed down through genera-tions. Thanks to them, the tradition wasenriched by music. The storytelling artdeveloped with the alternation of song

and spoken texts which narrated stories taken from the populartradition, episodes belonging to chivalric literature, parts of Operatranslated into Sicilian, and contemporary chronicles put in the form ofballads. This cultural tradition had its peak in the 1950s and 1960s.Afterwards, the cantastorie have gradually disappeared. But there aremany of them still performing in Sicily, especially in touristic places. Avery old family of storytellers, the Busacca family, still lives here inPaternò. They have also a very popular museum that collects their mostfamous traditional folktales.Another typical expression of Sicilian storytelling is the “Opera deiPupi”. The Opera dei Pupi is a marionette theatrical representation ofFrankish romantic poems such as the Song of Roland or OrlandoFurioso. These poems are enacted in traditional puppet theatresfeaturing handmade marionettes of wood or metal. A “pupo” is a puppetcontrolled from above using wires or strings. In particular, the “puparo”(the person who operates the “pupi”, who can be hidden or revealed tothe audience) uses a vertical or horizontal control bar where all thestrings are attached. Today, there are only a few families of “pupari” that

maintain the tradition. InCatania, the Napoli familystill makes their own pupiand has a small theatre fortheir representations. Manyschools take their students tovisit this unique place. Wehave been and we liked it alot. It's an amazing place!

Folk Tales

Cantastorie

Opera dei Pupi

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Food

Have you ever heard about Italiancuisine? Well, we think so. When youcome to our town and province you willbe overwhelmed by the incredible taste,variety, and freshness of our food.Everything here is delicious and tasty,from starters to pasta dishes, from meatto fish, from side dishes to cakes, frompizza to street food in general. These aresome of the dishes we like most: Pasta isa staple food of traditional Italiancuisine. Wecook it in a million ways! And we eat it every day, usually atlunch. In our town people also eat pasta with frogs! Frogs are a typicaldish of Paternò. We call them “larunchie”. We think it's disgusting to eatthem, but there are many people who love them and say it's a deliciousdish! Every year, we organize a “larunchie” festival here where you cantaste them in many different ways. In general, fish is a typical ingredientin the Mediterranean diet. We have different kinds of dishes preparedwith fish and seafood. One of the most popular is “sarde a beccafico”, adish of butterflied sardines sandwiched with a breadcrumb, parsley andparmesan stuffing: simply wonderful! Caponata is another Sicilianwonder. It's an aubergine dish consisting of a cooked vegetable saladmade from chopped fried eggplant and celery seasoned with sweetenedvinegar, with capers in sweet and sour sauce. But do you know what isthe food most loved by teenagers? It's the “arancini”! They are fried riceballs coated with breadcrumbs said to have originated in Sicily in the10th century. The main type of arancini sold in Sicilian cafes is arancini

with “ragù”, which typicallyconsist of meat in a tomatosauce, rice and mozzarella.Arancini are the most famousSicilian street food and thosemade in Paternò and Cataniaare really super! Sicily is veryfamous for its sweets, too.The “Cassata” is one the mostpopular. It consists of roundsponge cake moistened withfruit juices or liqueur andlayered with ricotta cheese

A typical pasta dish

The Sicilian Arancino

and candied peel. It is covered with a shell of marzipan, green pastelcoloured icing, and decorative designs. The cassata is topped withcandied fruit. “Cannoli” are other traditional desserts. They consist oftube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough, filled with ricotta cheese. Youmust try them!

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Music

Music in Sicily is very important, but in Paternòwe haven't got any typical music and famouscomposers. Anyway, many world-famousSicilian composers were born in Catania, forexample: Vincenzo Bellini. Vincenzo Bellini wasnamed "the Swan of Catania". He was thequintessential composer of bel canto opera. Hismost important works are “Norma” and “LaSonnambula”. He is considered one of the mostimportant composers in the world. But, asteenagers, we prefer to listen to pop music. Twovery well known Italian pop singers were born inCatania: Carmen Consoli and Franco Battiato.Carmen Consoli's music is a mixture of rock,pop and folk music, and she often sings inSicilian. She is an idol for the young. Franco Battiato is considered themost important Sicilian singer. His unique sound and especially hislyrics, often containing philosophical and religious references, makehim a unique artist on Italy's music scene. In particular, we like his songsin Sicilian. Sicily is also famous for its wonderful traditional music. Ro-sa Balistreri was the most important Sicilian folk singer in the past.Everybody used to know her beautiful songs. She sang and embodiedpain, misery, and hope. She poured her commitment into the strugglefor equal rights for women, her protest against every form of segregationand in favour of the right to education for all the social classes. She usedher position to reach the younger generations because she did not wantthem to suffer what she had experienced. She also sang very funny songs

about love, passion and jealousy.Unfortunately, today many youngpeople don't know her, which we think isa real shame. If you want to understandthe real soul of Sicily and its people youshould listen to the songs of this incredi-ble artist. Finally, in Sicily there aresome fantastic instruments, for examplethe “Ciaramedda”, which is a type ofbagpipe mainly played at Christmas,and the Sicilian jaw harp, which is called“Marranzano” and is heavily associatedwith Sicilian folk mu sic.

Vincenzo Bellini

Carmen Consoli

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Villanueva de los Infantes(Campo de Montiel)

Situated in the heart of Spain, there is a regioncalled Campo de Montiel formed by 21 towns(such as Albaladejo, Alcubillas, Almedina,Carrizosa, Cózar, Fuenllana, Montiel, Puebladel Príncipe, Santa Cruz de los Cáñamos,Terrinches, Torre de Juan Abad, Vil-lahermosa, Villamanrique, Villanueva de laFuente, Villanueva de los Infantes and so on),with approximately 57.534 inhabitants. It islocated in the provinces of Ciudad Real andAlbacete which are well known for how theypreserve their traditions and culture.Therefore, visiting this region is like a timemachine which brings us back to the past.Historically, the human presence in theselands is in Pre-Roman Spain with numerous Iberians, then Romans,and later Visigoths. For more than six centuries, Campo de Montielformed a political unit within the territories ruled by the Orden deSantiago, after the Reconquest of Castilla at the beginning of thethirteenth century. The capital was located in Villanueva de los Infantes,and they were without any doubt, the economic boom years. Nowadays,Villanueva de los Infantes is one of the biggest towns in Campo deMontiel with 6,000 inhabitants, although it is considered an economi-cally deprived area of Castilla-La Mancha. This region survives mainlyfrom agriculture, some industry work and tourism (an important sourceof income especially in Villanueva de los Infantes). Infantes is known asthe famous “Village in La Mancha,” as the universal Spanish writerMiguel de Cervantes described in Don Quixote: “[...] when the renownedknight Don Quixote of La Mancha, quitting the laziness down, mountedhis celebrated steed Rocinante and began to traverse the ancient andfamous Campo de Montiel.” (Miguel de Cervantes, 2001, page 106, PartI). Campo de Montiel is rich in churches and villas, but maybe one of themost visited and famous monuments is San Andrés' Parish Church, inVillanueva de los Infantes where the immortal writer Francisco deQuevedo is buried. He spent his last years in the Convent of theDominican Fathers located in the same town. There are a variety offestivals, monuments, cultural events, and lively places to visit and/orparticipate in. Campo de Montiel is a mixture of different cultures thatyou can´t miss...COME AND DISCOVER IT! IT´S A MUST!

Don Quixoteof La Mancha

Typical Labour Clothes

Work Costume

Typical labour clothesMen: In the town, they weara wide, leather sash woundtightly round their waist, awhite shirt or a shirt printedin black with white or bluesquares. They also wear ascarf around their neck, andin some jobs, they wear aheadscarf (which is biggerthan the women's) tied to their nape. They wear a straw hat, too.Women: Their costumes are characterized by striped colorful muslinunderskirt embroidered with colorful flowers. It is complemented by ablack jacket, a black silk apron and colorful striped or white socks. Theyalso wear a scarf with pins to hold their camisole, a white or black shawland black shoes.

Women: Consist of stamped pictures in blue and white or black andwhite tones muslin. Moreover, they wear a blouse, a dark apron, akerchief on their shoulders a headscarf, red or blue tights, sandals and abroad, straw hat.Men: Consist of brown tights, sandals tied around their calves with thesandal laces and cloth trousers finished with a white camisole, a kerchiefaround their neck, and a beret.

Work Clothes

Women hairstyleThe typical women hairstyle in La Manchawas called “de pleita”. A braid is made using asilver comb, big hairpins and black bows. Itused to be done once a week.

Costumes

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Dance

In our region there are sometypical dances and we'regoing to explain some ofthem. These dances arenormally accompanied withmusic and typical instru-ments, such as castanets,Spanish guitars, tambou-rines or bandurrias.

It is a type of song accompa-nied with dances with originin our region. They havedifferent ways of expression.It consists of great move-ments of the body, arms andfeet. In this picture, we cansee an example.

It's a very typical dance inCastilla-La Mancha and inSpain. People dance in pairs,

The Seguidillas

Fandango Manchego

one person in front of another and it has ternary rhythm. Normally mendance with women. This dance is known and practiced from the Baroqueperiod. It has been declared of regional tourist interest.

It is an example of the typical folklore from our region. This type ofdance/music is present almost in every corner of Spain. It is originalfrom the XVIII century. It is usually accompanied with a Spanish guitar,drums and castanets. The lyrics are related to the way of life of thisregion. The dancers are dressed with regional costumes.

Jota Manchega

Jota Manchega Dance

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In Spain there is a longtradition of festivals. Inevery city there are partiesand millions of people fromdifferent cities and countriescome every year to see themand participate. There aremany different types ofcelebrations. Some of thebest festivals are: the Fallas,the April Fair in Seville,Carnival, the festivities inhonour of the Patron Saint of Spain, Virgin Pilar in Zaragoza, El Rocio,Saint Isidro (who is the Patron Saint of Madrid), theBon- fires of Saint John in Alicante, and one of the most importantevents in Montiel is the medieval festival in March.

The 31st of December is a special day when friends meet, go out for adrink and wish themselves a “happy new year.” Late in the evening,families have a special dinner and at twelve o'clock. The chimes! Thetradition says that we have to eat one grape for each chi- me of the clock.The most famous clock in Spain for this purpose is the clock at the Puertadel Sol in Madrid. Preparation of the twelve grapes is crucial and thereare rituals of all kinds: people peel grapes and others take out the seeds.We also count them thousands of times just in case ... Eating the twelvegrapes means good luck, so you better count twelve and eat twelve!Otherwise, you won´t start the year off right.

End Of Year: Grapes And Chimes

Going To A Pilgrimage

In all the towns it´scelebrated the festivityof the Saint Patron ofthe village. People go tothe field where thesanctuary is situated,and celebrate by eating,drinking, dancing.

Festivities

Medieval Festival in Montiel

Feast of New Year's Eve

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The legend tells of an Arabian Caliph whowas married to a Muslim wife. She wasbeautiful with brown skin and long blackhair. The Arabian caliph loved her morethan anything in the world, but this manwas very jealous when his wife wasaccompanied by other men. One day, thewoman was washing her hair in a riverwhen a Christian slave appeared. Then,this slave brushed the woman´s hair with

a golden comb. The caliph saw them together, and he killed the slave ashe thought the man tried to kiss his wife. The woman cried a lot becauseof the death of the slave, and her tears fell into the river. This was thecause of the pollution of the river, so the beautiful and wonderful plantsof the gardens of the Caliph´s palace died, too. The caliph tried to lock uphis wife, but she escaped from the palace and returned to the river wherethe Christian slave had died. Then she went inside an ancient cave, butshe never left the cave. Finally, the legend tells that if you are next to thiscave at Saint John´s night, the Muslim woman will appear and threepossibilities could occur: 1. The Muslim woman will appear brushing herlong hair. 2. The Muslim woman will throw her golden comb at you. 3.The Muslim woman will haul within the cave and you won´t leave ituntil you say the name of Muslim woman. The legend tells that a farmerwas digging at the field when he unearthed the image of the Virgin Mary.He brought this image to Villanueva de los Infantes and brought it intothe church for the people to wash it. The next day people went to thechurch to see this image, but they saw that it had disappeared.

Meanwhile, the farmer wasdigging again at the field whenhe found the image of the VirginMary again. He ran to the townand all people thought that amiracle had occurred. Therefore,the people built a chapel in thesame place where Virgin Marywas discovered. This image iscalled `Nuestra Señora de laAntigua´ and it is the saintpatron of Villanueva de losInfantes.

Folk Tales

Mora's Cave

Nuestra Señora de la Antigua Church

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Food

The cuisine of Spain isdiverse and enrichedby the contributions ofthe various regionsthat make up thiscountry. The Spanishcuisine has also beenstrongly influenced bythe people who havec o n q u e r e d t h i sterritory throughouthistory.

'El pisto' is a tradi-tional dish of Spanishcuisine, especially in

El Pisto

our region. It is usually known as 'Pisto Manchego'. The principalingredients are tomatoes and green peppers, two common products inour region. We need olive oil to fry those ingredients and we also addsmall pieces of meat, especially pork. But if you are a vegetarian, you canleave the meat out.This dish is so important in our region, especially in Villanueva de losInfantes, that some years ago we decided to celebrate a special festivaldedicated to this dish. On the first weekend of September, we cook thebiggest pisto in the world and everybody is invited to taste it.There is also a medieval market, street parades are represented andthere is also a festival which shows typical dances from this part ofCastilla la Mancha and even from other places in Spain and abroad.This picture shows some men preparing 'El Pisto'. They made thisspecial frying pan for this occasion. People from Villanueva de losInfantes and nearby villages meet the day before to prepare all theingredients: they cut the tomatoes and peppers into small pieces andkeep them in boxes ready for the next day.

It is a typical dish from Castilla-La Mancha that consists of: tomatoes,laurel and pieces of rabbit, partridge, hare or chicken. In some places,they also add mushrooms. This dish is very heavy and pastoral in itsorigin. Miguel de Cervantes mentions it in Don Quixote of La Mancha.

Gazpacho Manchego

World's Biggest Pisto Manchego

Ingredients

Preparation

MIGAS (more known as shepherd migas)

Ingredients for 4 people: 1/4 hare and partridge pigeon 1/2 1/4 1/4chicken rabbit 4 chanterelles five cakes gazpacho 1 onion chopped, 1small green pepper chopped, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 6 clovesgarlic, 2 dl oil, 1 l water, 2 bay leaves, a few grains of salt pepper.

Fry in hot oil reserving a tablespoon, hare or partridge, pigeon, rabbitand sliced chicken. When they are golden brown add the onion, pepper,tomato and 4 garlic cloves, without taking color. Add the parsley andbay leaf and cover with water. Simmer for two hours at low heat. Crush 2garlic cloves in a mortar with pepper and two tablespoons of the brothfrom cooking game, and add to the pan along with 1 gazpacho cake cutinto small pieces. Sauté the chanterelles in the reserved oil and add tothe pan. Simmer everything together for fifteen minutes.

It is typical dish of shepherds so they could take advantage of hardbread. Its ingredients are: bread, olive oil, chorizo and panceta and youcan eat them with grapes. Migas comes from Magrebi couscous. In theChristian territories, Migas was prepared with bread and pork todistinguish it from the Arabic and Jewish food.

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Music

Folk songs from La Mancha are generallybased on the life in the countryside. Thereare different types of songs and they aregenerally accompanied by dance:

They show the manchega soul which isfestive and penetrating. The origin of thismusic unknown. The only thing we know isthat they were sung and danced during theCervantes period. According to musicians,they were born in La Mancha from thepastoral jota at the end of the Musliminvasion (15th century). Seguidillasmanchegas are typical songs from LaMancha accompanied by dance. They have avibrant rhythm. The most com-moninstruments are guitars and castanets.

Seguidillas manchegas

These songs have been used to express different habits and religiousfeelings among other subjects. They are made up of verses and chorusand there are four parts. One specific type is called ”torrás”. They aremore cheerful and generally they are about love.

People sing these traditional songs on the 31st of April and the 1st ofMay. The singers walk around and they sing in different places. They

Mayos manchegos

play instruments such aslutes, bandurrias, tambou-rines, castanets and guitars.There are several kinds ofmayos depending on the goal,for example mayo to the cross,mayo to the ladies, mayo to theflowers and mayo to theVirgin. In the case of mayo tothe cross, the singers andmusic ians walk aroundlooking for crosses and then,they sing there.

Bandurria andSpanish Guitar

Spanish Castanets

Fandangos manchegos

Jotas

They are traditional songs accompanied by dance. At the beginning ofthe songs they are slow but at the end they are quick and cheerful. Theyare picaresque. This music originated in Andalucía and Extremadura inthe seventeenth century.

Started in Castilla during the eighteenth century. The song whichaccompanies the music is called “copla”. The subject of the “copla” islove and life with a funny character. This music is accompanied withdance.

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Kędzierzyn-Koźle (Opole)

Opole is a region situated in the southof Poland. It is the smallest province inthe country, inhabited by the 1.06million people. There are beautifulOpawskie mountains, rivers, lakes, oldwoods and forests. Among the mostfamous tourist attractions are: MosznaCastle, Saint Anne's Mountain, yrowaPalace, Krasiejów JuraPark, Nysa lakeor part of Opole called Venice.Industry and agriculture are the mostimportant pillars of the region`seconomy. We can taste regionaldelightsThe specialities of Silesian cuisine are:beef, kartoflanka (potato soup). Wealso have

Ż

a wide selection of dessertslike szpajza, skubaniec and kołacz

. Martin`s Day (Dzień ŚwiętegoMarcina) and of course

(rolled cake with poppy seeds)In the Opole region we can participate in various folk festivals such asSaint.Andrew`s (Andrzejki) or Saint

Easter. Easter is celebrated in the atmosphere ofjoy - shared among all people.Our region is recognized by already forgotten crafts. It offers apossibility of experiencing how does the life in old Silesian village lookedlike.Opole has got its own history. The legend says that in the times when thisregion was still raw and wild a tribe ruler left his companions duringhunting. For many days, he was lost and wandering in the woods.Finally, he found himself on a small glade, with huts of peasants. He wasso happy that he shouted with joy “O! Pole” (“Oh Field!”, which is thecontemporary name of our region). Being grateful for help he ordered tobuild the foundations of what we now know as Opole city.

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Folk costumes painted by students

Folk female costumes

National costumes of Polandvary by region. They are notworn in daily life but at folkfestivals, folk weddings,religious holidays, festivals andother special occasions. Thecostumes do reflect region andsometimes social or maritalstatus.Typical Silesian male costumeconsists of shirt in a simpleform, lecture collars andnarrow cuffs, dark blue vest,beige plain pants and leathershoes.Silesian female costume ismade of skirt reaching to theankles, white blouse, vestbuttoned in front for fivebuttons, scarf made of wool(for adult women) and floralcrown for younger women.

Costumes

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Dance

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In our town there are groups offolk and modern dance. Theyentertain adults and teenagers.These groups p e r f o r m o nnational and internationalstages. They win competitions inPoland and abroad.

This is a folk band that presentsfolk dances. They show typicalSilesian dances such as “Trojok”and “Mietlorz”. The group hasperformed in the United States,Germany, Spain, Portugal and

“Komes” Dance And SongEnsemble

Italy. They have a lot of awardsand honors.

I t ' s o u r n a t i o n a l d a n c e .Everybody knows about thisdance and has some skills with it,because we dance it when wefinish school or during theimportant ceremonies.These are our cheerleaders, whodance before every match of ournational champion

Polonez

volleyballteam ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle.

These beautiful girls are thedarlings of all fans.

In our town there are manygroups of modern dance. Teensdancing in these teams improvetheir skills of modern andballroom dance. Groups reachhigh places at national andinternational competitions.

Local Groups Of ModernDance

Komes - Dance and Song Ensemble

ZAKSA Cheerleaders

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Harvest festival

Drowning of Marzanna

It's one of the most impor-tant folk traditions. Peopleprepare straw dolls, decoratefences with pumpkins,sunflowers and corn. Theyalso bring some crops to thechurch. There are proces-sions and competitions.

The most popular regionalspring custom celebrated on21st March. It's symbolizingleave taking from the winter,illness and evil. It's usually combined with bringing in young pinebranches as a symbol of spring.

A very long tradition going back to Decorating Easter Eggs. The art ofdecorating eggs was knew in the Silesia of Opole, which is confirmed byarchaeological excavations in Ostrówek. The most characteristic of thisregion is unique and colourful china. This china is bought by a lot oftourists.

Woman of various age came to one of housewives for stripping feathers.They had a good time telling stories or singing folk songs. The stripping

Easter eggs decorating

Stripping feathers

season began in Novem-ber.

Festivities

Harvest Festival

Stripping Feathers

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Koźle Legend

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Food

In the Opole region the most liked dishis “Silesian Heaven”. It containsSilesian dumplings, red cabbage,Opole beef roll and meat sauce. Wethink this is one of the best and mostinteresting dishes that any teenagercan eat here. “Lazy dumplings” are alsoa great thing to have for dinner. Theyare quite similar to Silesian dumplings,but these contain a cottage cheese.They're served with melted butter andonion or sugar. Borsch is the traditional dish for many celebrations,especially for Christmas Eve. We use beetroots, leaven and vegetables tocook it. We have also the other dish, called “ urek”- buttermilk-basedsour soup. The main differences between them are: colour, consistencyand when should you prepare it. The borsch is a traditional ChristmasEve dish. Cabbage rolls called “Go bki” are cabbage leaves stuffed withrice and minced meat. It's served with tomato sauce. Sometimes it isprepared in a different way- leaves are stuffed with mashed potatoes andfried onion, then it's served with meat sauce, like in Silesian Heaven.

Opole Beef Roll is made of a rolled slice of meat stuffed with dill pickles,onion and smoked bacon. It is normally served with Silesian dumplingsand red cabbage. Silesian Dumplings are made from grated potatoes,potato flour and eggs. They host not only on Sunday dinner, but also inimportant celebrations. Red Cabbage is a salad of cooked red cabbagewith a pinch of spice and bacon. It`s often in the Silesian cuisine and isserved warm with Beef Roll and dumplings.Silesian Crum Cake is the first product in the Opole region with

ż

łą

(kołacz)

Typical Silesian Cuisine

Gołąbki Cabbage Rolls

a certificate of the EU ProtectedGeographical Indication. This cakemade with crumbly crust. It is bakedwith poppy seeds, cheese, apples or onlywith crust.

traditional dishes of theSilesia of Opole. It is made on naturalflour leaven, and it has thick consis-tency.

Buttermilk-Based Sour Soup (żurek) isone of the most

Opole Beef Roll

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Music

In our town we haveSong and DanceEnsemble “Komes”.Older and youngeri n h a b i t a n t s o fK dzierzyn - Ko lepresent folk music inPoland and abroad.In our province thereare a lot of festivalsand competitionswith folk music, fore x a m p l e : “ O p o l e

ę ź

Holiday of Folk Song” contest is organized in Gogolin every year. MichaBajor is a Polish actor and singer. He appeared in the film “Quo vadis”where he acted as Neron. Kamil Bednarek is a Polish reggae singer,composer, songwriter and instrumentalist. One of the most famoussongs by Bednarek is called “Think about tomorrow”. Edyta Górniak is aPolish singer, composer and songwriter. She appeared in the Eurovision

ł

song contest. Her mostpopular English songs are“One and one”, “Anything”and “When you come backto me”.The most popular Silesiansong is “Posz a Karolinka”,it is about girl who goes tothe town Gogolin. Anotherfamous song is “Sz adzieweczka do laseczka”.It is about girl who goes tothe forest and she meets aboy.

ł

ł

Famous Regional Singers

Karolinka

Sulzbach-Rosenberg - (Bavaria)

Archeological excavations(1986-1987; 1993- 2002)around Sulzbach Castle showt h a t t h e r e h a v e b e e nsettlements on Castle H i l l(Schlossberg) since the 8thcentury. A significant center ofpower arose in the Nordgau,thanks to the rich soil and theterr i tory 's advantageousl o c a t i o n i n r e l a t i o n t oimportant commercial thoroughfares.The existence of the House of Sulzbach is documented asfar back as the11th century, and its members were German nobles. The central roleplayed by the House of Sulzbach in European history is demonstrated bythe lives of two of Count Berengar's daughters during the first half of the12th century. Gertrud married Konrad III. of the House ofHohenstaufen in 1131/1132. Her sister Bertha was wed to the ByzantineEmperor Manuel Komnenos I. in 1146, and thereafter was named Ireneof Byzanteum. The coat of arms of the House of Sulzbach (six white lilieson a red background) was bequeathed to the city of Sulzbach after all ofthe Counts had died in 1188.During and after the baroque era Sulzbach was thriving again, under thereign of Count Christian August. Having successfully stabilized his

Local Coat of Arms

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Castle of Sulzbach

Duchy's political affairs, Christian Au-gust then turned to the task of developingits internal affairs. He made Sulzbach acultural and intellectual centre. Heauthorized three printing houses(amongst them a Jewish one)in Sulzbach. In 1666 Christian foundedthe Jewish community of Sulzbach. Heencouraged Christian Knorr vonRosenroth to come to the court, whocould speak Hebrew, and knew a lot aboutJudaism in general. Count Christian wasway ahead of his time spreading religioustolerance a value that Sulzbach-Rosenberg still takes pride in today. Thisis how Sulzbach became a home forCatholics, Lutherans and Jews thus

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promoting cultural diversity. The rich culture is still visible today, e.g. inthe Literature House founded by Prof. Walter Höllerer. For many yearsthe economy of the Amberg-Sulzbach region was dominated by thesteel mill called Maxhütte, which was founded in 1853 and had to shutdown in 2002 due to financial problems. Looking back Sulzbach-Rosenberg has been dominated by two factors: steel industry and thetown's rich cultural history making it a unique and attractive town,which is well worth a visit.

Folk Costume

Knots of a Dirndl

A “Tracht” is a type of a dress which wasonce worn in Bavaria and Austria most ofthe time, and it continues to be worn inthese regions for special festivities, whichtake place to celebrate the traditions of thearea. Of course Bavarians don´t wear a“Dirndl” or leather trousers everyday.There are different kinds of traditionalclothes for boys and girls.In the past, men wore long leather trouserswith a white shirt, over it a black or red vestwith flower embroidery and a felt hat.Today, boys usually wear leather trouserscombined with a chequered shirt, which isavailable in different bright colours.

Traditional leather pants have a length up to the knee, but there are alsooverknee and short ones. They`re mostly coloured in dark brown, lightbrown, black or dark green.Leather trousers are made of cow-leather, pig-leather and sometimes ofcloth, but originally they´re of deer leather. Nowadays some girls alsowear leather trousers.Girls wear a special dress, which is called “Dirndl”. Dirndl is theBavarian word for girl and because all women wore this dress, called bythe same name. Originally the Dirndl was the working dress of femaleservants. But at the end of the 19th century the “Tracht” was no longertypical for the working class anymore. It became fashionable to wear

“Tracht”. There is a differ-ence between a traditional“Tracht“ and a historical“Tracht“ . A his tor ica l“Tracht“ for women includesa skirt, an apron and a smallblack bodice. The traditionalstyle consists of the dressitself (a wide and long skirtwith a corsage), a whiteblouse and a colorful apron.Modern versions are seen inall lengths, from long to veryshort, sometimes they´re

Costumes

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decorated with glitter. You can also buy blouses in many colours such aspink or blue.There are also different kinds of accessories for girls, which can be wornwith a „Dirndl“, for example a necklace with a charm, that looks like a“Lebkuchenherz“. A “Lebkuchenherz“ is a heart made of ginger bread.There are two different types of caps. The first one is a pointed hat withribbons that reach the waist. Thesecond one is the “Riegelhaube“, a type of bonnet, which is decoratedwith embroidery and beads. It was usually attached to the hair.

The knot of the apron indicates the woman´s marital status. A knot tiedon the woman's left side shows that she is single, a knot tied on the rightmeans that she is married or "taken", a knot tied in the front centremeans that she is a virgin and a knot tied at the back indicates that thewoman is widowed.

Putting up a 'Kirwa'-Tree

'Kirwa'-Dance

In Sulzbach-Rosenberg there are a lot ofopportunities to enjoy traditional dances,which are typical for the region, and alsomodern dances from all over the world.An example is ballet. This dance is a veryformal and strict type of classical dance andit is a very popular one. In Sulzbach-Rosen-berg, there are two ballet studios. Everyonecan do ballet there, also the youth and eventhe small children. Another typical moderndance in our town is Hip Hop. You canlearn how to dance Hip Hop near our town.We also have a special festival, the carnival.For this there is a characteristic dance. It iscalled “Gardetanz”. The dancers (male andfemale) wear special costumes. Mostly thedance is performed in groups. Amongstthem the most skilled girl is chosen asaleader. She is called "Funken-mariechen".In Sulzbach-Rosenberg, the Gardetanz” is promoted by the carnivalsociety “Knappnesia e.V.”In Bavaria we have a very traditional dance called the "Kirwa"-dance.These festivities have originally been held to celebrate the act of conse-crating an altar, temple, church, or other sacred items. The people set upa parish fair tree and during the time of the festivity they dance aroundthis tree.The people at the Kirwa go to the parish fair tree together with music, a

barrel of beer and a sheep.The sheep is a central part ofthe festivity and is fed andwashed during the festival.Nowadays the sheep ishanded back to its farmer,but in former times thesheep was slaughtered in theend. Around the tree there isthe designated dancing area.At the opening ceremony thepeople performing therehave to be unmarried andolder than 16. Another

Dance

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tradition of this dance is the flower bouquet. During the ceremony thecouples dance around the tree and the bouquet is passed around in acircle. There is an alarm clock and when it rings the couple holding thebouquetis announced as the „Oberkirwapaar“-the chief dancingcoupleof the Kirwa.

Typical dances are the „Dreher“, Waltz, and the Scottish Sternpolka.You can learn the dances in Kirwa-dance workshops held in the sur-rounding villages. At the end of the Kirwa the Kirwa-people close theKirwa by celebrating at a typical Bavarian restaurant.

'Kirwa'-Sheep

Putting up a 'Kirwa'- Tree

KirwaKirwa celebrated the occasionwhen the church was conse-crated. It is still celebrated withmusic and dancing. This isspecial for our region, in otherregion it is similar but withslightly different customs.Here, in the rural districtA m b e r g - S u l z b a c h , t h eKirwapaare (couples) “dig upthe Kirwa”, that meansthey dig up a bottle of liquorand a report from the last Kirwa. On Saturday afternoon the villagecommunity puts up a large tree close to where the Kirwa was “dug up”.As soon as the tree stands, the tree has to be protected by theKirwapeople all night long, until Sunday morning.Then the Kirwaboum (young men of the community) and Kirwamoidla(young women girls) wear their Tracht (traditional Bavarian clothes)and eat lunch together. Afterwards the girls go to families, in other

villages who celebrate Kirwa and hidefrom the Kirwaboum. The men drivewith a decorated tractor with a trailerto the families in the local area (theyknow where the girls are) and pretendto search for the girls. When everyKirwaboy has found his Kirwagirl theydrive back to the village with the treeand dance around it (Look to Dances).After the Austanzen (when they havetheir Oberkirwapaar) they sit down inthe guesthouse or tent and celebrateand have fun together with dances andmusic.On Monday morning they have lunchand sit in the guesthouse and celebrateuntil the end of the day. Then the Kirwafinishes. The Kirwa is “buried” onWednesday evening, and will be dugup the next year.

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Annabergfest

Altstadtfest

Every year at the end of July we celebrate the Annabergfest on one of thehighest hills-called Annabergin the area of Sulzbach-Rosenberg.In1656 the palatine Christian August constructed the St.-Anna chapel outof wood, but in 1676 it was replaced with stone. In a period of 200 yearsthe church has been renovated several times. On the way up to thechurch you walk along the stations of the passion of Jesus Christ, whichis depicted in hand painted paintings. The Lourdesgrotto and theLorettochapel belong to the church s well.The church is consecrated to the Saint Anna. She is the patroness of theminers, skippers and the childless mothers. Many pilgrims come to theAnnaberg to pray to the Saint Anna. The festivity is always around theAnna-day, the 26th of July. Local butchers and restaurants sell theirfood and drinks. People of all generations celebrate the Annabergfest.This year it's from the 19th of July until the 27th of July.

The youth of Sulzbach-Rosenberg doesn't have that many opportuni-ties to go out, because we have no clubs or pubs where people under 18are allowed to enter. So we are really happy that at the “Altstadtfest” - afestivity taking place around the last week of June- everybody iswelcome. On a weekend in June when the Altstadtfest is celebrated wemeet at our town square. It is a really big public event in our area. Everyevening you can go there to meet friends, listen to good music and toenjoy traditional food. When you come to our famous festival, youshould also visit the medieval re-enactments of the historical group“Stiber Fähnlein“. In their medieval camp the visitors have the chanceto travel back in time. By 10 p.m on Saturday they present their fireshow to the visitors, which finishes with huge fireworks. TheAltstadtfest is not only for people who want to sit together, it is also forsporty and active people. On Sunday morning there is a competition ofthe “Sulzbach-Rosenberg City Run”, where everybody can start. Afterthe exhausting run you can enjoy the last day of the Altstadtfest andplan your next visit.

Fürstenquelle

Plan of City hall

T h e f o u n d i n g o f S u l z b a c h -RosenbergIn our hometown Sulzbach-Rosenbergwe have different stories and legendsabout its founding.The official one is about Count Gebhard,who was born between 1043 and 1071 anddied in 1085. He lived in Sulzbach-Ro-senberg and was married to Irmgard vonRott, who died in 1101. He was hunting inthe forests. After a long time he saw aboar in the woods and he followed it to aspring. Because he was really tired andthirsty, he was happy to find a place, where he could rest and drinksomething.He was overwhelmed by the water, because he had never tasted some-thing like this before. So he decided to stay there and over the years hefounded our beautiful hometown Sulzbach-Rosenberg.The castle of Count Gebhard survived the centuries and is still visibleabove the town. It's one of the highest points in Sulzbach-Rosenberg andyou can't overlook it. You can also still see the spring with the goodwater, which is called 'Fürstenquelle' now.

Like all places on earth Sulzbach-Rosenberg has also mysterious storiesand different legends. One of them, which is very well known here, iscalled 'The Weather Witch'.One day some farmers were working on their fields. It was a really hot

A legend of Sulzbach-Rosenberg - The Weather Witch

day, so they were tiredbecause they had towork for hours andhours without anybreaks. They weresweating because thesun shone mercilesslyon them. All theywished for was winda n d r a i n t o c o o lthemselves down.Suddenly a mysteri-ous old woman, whom

Folk Tales

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they had never seen before, walked past the farmers and told them shewould help them. The workers didn't know what was going on, when thelady started walking across the field with a straw between her toes.When she went away, a terrible storm started and the people wereafraid because of what the woman had done. After that they decided totell the story to their king. So the king ordered the execution of thewoman, who was a witch in their opinion.Women were often executed as witches in Sulzbach-Rosenberg. Todayyou can still see the cave in the town hall, where they were punished.

Schweinebraten

Pretzel

S c h w e i n e b r a t e n a n dP r e t z e l s – t w o t y p i c a lBavarian mealsIngredients:-Potato dumpling dough Red

cabbage-Garlic-Leek-Carrots-Celery-Honey -Salt/Pepper

1.-Cut the garlic, leek, carrotsand celery into small pieces,then add salt and pepper.

2.-Put the pork and the cutvegetables in a baking dish.

3.-Put it into the hot oven for 2.5 hours.4.-Coat the Schweinebraten every 30 minutes with some honey for an

encrusted crackling.5.-Shred the red cabbage and cook it for 1 hour.6.-Take the potato dough, form them into dumplings and put them into

boiling water for 20 minutes.

Ingredients:500g of flour (wheat)-1 pack dry yeast-teaspoon of sugar-350 ml milk-Salt-1,5l water; 3 teaspoons of bicarbon-ate sodium1.-At first you need to mix the flourwith the yeast. Then you have to putthe milk on the oven and warm it up.(make sure it doesn't boil).Afterwards you have to mix it withthe flour yeast mixture and add therest of the ingredients, too.2.-Then you need to knead it.3.-When the dough is finished, keepit somewhere warm (the best place

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is maybe the heater).4.-Form the Pretzels and let them rise in a baking pan.5.-In this time you can boil water with bicarbonate sodium (1,5l of waterand 3 teaspoons of bicarbonate sodium). When it boils put 1 Pretzel intothe salt solution and leave it there for about 20-30 secs. Do the samewith the rest of the formed Prezels.6. When you are finished, put a kitchen towel above the Pret zels and letthem rest for 20 minutes. You can put cheese or sea salt on them. Putthem into the oven for 20-25 minutes at 180 Celsius degrees.

Musicians

Castle of Sulzbach

Sulzbach-Rosenberg is amusical city. There are a lot ofm u s i c a l i n s t i t u t i o n s i nS u l z b a c h - R o s e n b e r g f o rexample the musical collegehoused in the Pestalozziprimary school and the“Städtische Musikschule”,which is located in one of thebiggest sights of Sulzbach, thecity castle. It was founded in1956 by Oswald Heimbucherand is the marvellous locationfor more than 80 events a year.

In this school there are 80 teachers who teach up to 800 people. Thestudents have the chance to choose between a huge variety of differentinstruments, such as piano, violin, the accordion or the clarinet andmany more. The center for music and culture “MuK” is not only aninstitution for getting taught how to play instruments, but also theirmain interest is to convey cultural education. Apart from musicalworkshops and courses, it also offers drawing and acting lessons, danceworkshops and much more.Apart from that there are a lot of musical organisations like the“Spielmannszug” (i.e. marching band). This band keeps the tradition ofplaying music while marching along the streets of Sulzbach-Rosenberg.Everyone can join it and can be a part of the “Spielmannszug” after anindividual training.The Sulzbach-Rosenberg International Music Festival (nicknamedSRIMF by locals) has been around for 10 years in Sulzbach-Rosenberg,Bavaria, Germany. The summer of 2015 will mark the special celebra-

Music

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tion of its 10th anniversary. In addition to that, the InterHarmony luresyou into the fabulous world of Music of talented musicians and theinhabitants of Sulzbach-Rosenberg will show you their enthusiasm forclassical music. The festival is what makes it all unique. Concerts aretypically packed, with an average of 800 people in the Final OrchestraConcert each year. The newspapers are very active in writing about thefestival and getting the word out there about concerts and stories aboutindividuals performing at the festival from around the globe.Everything is provided by the club.A great mixture between opera and theatre is realised by the Knorr-von-Rosenroth-Festival. It is named after Christian Knorr von Rosenroth.He lived from 1636 to 1689 and was a poet, court chancellor and clerk ofthe court. As an intermediary of Christian and Jewish spiritual traditionKnorr promoted the thought of tolerance. He also supported theconviction that education and science improve public welfare.The festival presents dramatical and musical events from the age ofbaroque and brings the European courtand festival culture back to life.Professional actors, singers and dancers present the play.

Gyula (Békés county)

History and geographyBékés county is situated in south-eastern Hungary on the border withRomania. It shares border withCsongrád, Jász-Nagykun- Szolnok andHajdú-Bihar counties.The county's capital is Békéscsaba.In the early 18th century after theOttoman's reign the county was re-populated with Slovaks, Serbs,Germans and Romanians as well asHungarians. Most of the non-Hungarian population was assimilatedby the end of 19th century.The most significant town of the countyis Gyula. The area has been inhabited since 5000- 4000 BC.The castle ofGyula was built in the early 15th century. It became the county seatunder Matthias I. It was an important fortress during the Ottoman warsin Europe, but it was captured in 1566.The castle of Gyula is very famous, because it is the only brick castle inCentral Europe that could survive almost undamaged the Ottoman war,the 1st world war and the 2nd world war.The castle is now a museum and an open-air theatre.

Gyula is named after the Medieval Hungarian ruler Gyula. It was also atitle of one of the Hungarian tribes.The first recorded reference to Gyula was in a document from 1313 whichmentioned a monastery called Gyulamonostora.The building of Gyula castle began in the 14th century and finished in the16th century. It was the property of Marothy family and later JohnCorvinus, the son of Matthia I.Turks conquered Gyula and it remained part of the Ottoman Empireuntil 1694.

In the 18th century the landlord Janos Harruckern invited German,Hungarian and Romanian settlers to reestablish the town.Now Gyula isan attractive tourist destination with its thermal bath, the castle, thecastle-lake and a lot of other attractions ( 100-year-old confectionary,Town Hall, Erkel Ferenc Birth House, St. Michael Cathedral, RomanCatholic Church, Roman Catholic Chapel.)Gyula is located in the Great Plain on the River Fehér-Körös next to the

Coat of Arms

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Romanian border.

If you want a real attractive, relaxing and beautiful place to have a rest orspend some days in it, don't miss it to visit this town on the south-eastcorner of Hungary.

Folk Costume

Folk Costumes

Hungarian traditional costumeis a traditional clothing stylefor Hungarians.The motif is not the same indifferent regions of Hungary.

It was made by women. Theyused durable fabric to serveseveral generations. Nowadayspeople are wearing thesebeautiful costumes only in folkfeasts. You can try on sometraditional costumes of GyulaFolk Dance Group.

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Folk Dance

School Dance Group

T h e 6 5 - y e a r - o l d“Körös” Folk DanceGroupThis dance group hasbeen representing thetime-honoured dancetradition in Gyula for avery long time. The groupconsists of a bunch ofe n t h u s i a s t i c y o u n gpeople who are willing todeal with important andmeaningful value ofHungary in their free time. They regularly appear for dance festivals aswell as other events in the town and on TV. They take part in dancecompetitions too with great success. Last year they won first prize inNational Folk Dance Festival.A lot of students who go to dance group become soloist or danceteacher.

Dance

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Easter Traditions

The community of our towns and villages havebeen keeping our traditions for hundreds ofyears. They are in close connection with thefour seasons.

They are festivals of spring waiting. Peoplewear strange masks and eat traditional„Carnival donuts”, and they burn the Kisze-puppet as a symbol of winter bury.

This is an ecclesiastic and spring feast as well.It consists of two days: on Easter Sunday girls

Carnival and Kisze-puppet burning

Easter

paint eggs, and on Easter Monday boys go towater girls for painted eggs. They use water orperfume for watering.

Three weeks before Christmas people arepreparing for the celebration. It is called:Advent. People light candles on Advent wreath

Christmas

.13 days before Christmas men in villages startto make Luca's chair. If you stand on this chairon Christmas Eve, you can recognize who isthe witch in your village.Families prepare gingerbread and other cakesfor traditional Christmas dinner, then they goto church. On Christmas day people decorate aChristmas tree, sing holy songs and thefamilies celebrate Christmas together.

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Easter Fun

Rondella in Gyula

Lieutenant John Géczy'sfeatIn 1565 the Ottoman army hadoccupied Arad and Timiso areand they started to findopportunity to occupy thefortress Gyula.Hungarians knew that theycouldn't keep the fortressagainst the huge overpower fora long time.L i e u t e n a n t J o h n G é c z ythought out a brave but verydangerous plan. During thenight he escaped from thefortress and went to theOttoman camp to find Pertafpasha, the Ottoman leader.He said he knew a tunnelleading to the fortress. For a bigamount of money he waswilling to take 100 Ottomansoldiers to the fortress. Theyagreed.At noon John started to thetunnel with 100 excitedsoldiers behind him and a torchwith his hand. After an hour walk they saw a light. Lieutenant John ledthe Ottoman soldiers to the Rondella, where the Hungarians kept thegunpowder. When everyone arrived, John put the torch into thegunpowder. The explosion was enormous. Everybody died includingJohn.By the next morning the Ottoman army had moved away. It was saidthat Allah was with the Hungarians and not with them.John's self-sacrificing heroism could delay the occupation of Gyulafortress for another year.

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Cooking on open Fire

Gyula Sausages

The Sausage Festival is calledK o l b á s z f e s z t i v a l i nHungarian. It is one of themost prominent culinaryevent of the year, a four-dayprogram revolving aroundthe traditional Hungariansausage. The Sausage Festivalis set to see a large turnout,while the number of team sinthe several sausage makingcompetition is also set to berecord breaking.The Free Sausage FillingCompetition is for youngpeople, mainly for grandchil-dren and grandfathers teams, and there is also a separate competitionfor retired clubs and large families. The winter salami and the traditionalGyula sausage competition is also taking place.You can try some traditional Hungarian shepperd food, too: goulash,slambuc, chicken paprika.

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Ferenc Erkel 1810-1893

Magna Cum Laude

The composer of our national Anthem,Ferenc Erkel was born in Gyula. He wasnot only a composer but a chorus-masterand a pianist too. Moreover he was anexcellent chess-player.

He was the creator of Hungarian nationalopera and the creator of HungarianChess Association. His birth house is nowa museum. If you are interested in musicand chess under one roof, come to Gyulaand visit it.

The pop group was established in 1999.The band consists of four young men whowere born in Gyula.They started their career in Gyula butnowadays the band is well known in thewhole country. They have made 8 CDs,

Magna Cum Laude

and they have been in the Top10 for years.They insist on Gyula, their birth town, and in summer they organize freeconcerts for their fans. Young and adults, parents, and children, grand-

parents and grandchildren go to the-se concerts to listen to Magna CumLaude-songs, they sing the songstogether with the band.

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City View

View on the Beach

Vezirköprü is a town of30.000 inhabitants which istied to greater city of Samsun.The town is about 110km awayfrom the city center of Samsun.The town is located in the

Anatolia Mountains in thenorth and west. Vezirköprü hasa great number of villages andcountry population with morethan70.000 inhabitants. It is the

valleyof Kızılırmak (Red River)s u r r o u n d e d w i t h N o r t h

5th most populated town of Samsun. The Red River which is the longestone in Turkey passes by the town.The history of Vezirköprü dates back tothe Hitites (2000BC- 700BC). The city was first established by theHitites which was 2,5 km away from from current Town center. It wasthe very first settlement in Vezirköprü. Due to archeological excava-tions, it is clear that the holy city of the Hitites, Nerik, was settled inVezirköprü. Except from the historical ruins, the first cuneiform tabletsin Black Sea Region are found during the excavation that are held in

village.The town was reigned by the Phrygians and Paflagons during 1200 BC.And then it was captured by Alexander the Great. The city which wasruined by the second attacks of Phrygians and re-established byByzantines. Today, various Byzantine columns are found in differentparts of the town.The name 'Vezirköprü' is a compound noun consisting of Vezir which

Oymaağaç

means consultant of Padishah(king) and Köprü which meansbridge. The name Vezirköprüadresses to a number of Vezirs whowere born in the Town and servedfor the Ottoman Empire and thelocation of the town like a transitionbridge in the area.

Vezirköprü (Samsun)

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Traditional Clothes

Traditional Clothes

Traditional ClothingDespite the dissemination ofready-wear, villagers, espe-cially the women still wearlocal and traditional clothes insome villages of Vezirköprü.You can see women wearingshirts made of cotton rope thatare usually red and blue colour.The shirts are generally plaidor striped both in one colourand United colours. The shirtsare combined with long and wide shalwars which are also striped andcoloured vividly. The shalwars make the women feel and move comfort-ably while they are working at home or in the fields. The salwar and theshirt in fitted with a long scar that covers the woman's head lying downfrom their shoulders to their chests. Although the scarf is square, itseems triangleon women. The scarf is clipsed with a cotton rope on thehead that is generally opposite colour of it. There are always images orfigure on these clothes. Today, a workshop is supported by governmen-tal Grant in Susuz village and the women of the village produce thesetraditional clothes there.It is very common to wear a vest and a hat in the villages of the area. Thevest is generally made of thin fabric so as to make the person movecomfortably. It is generally a dark colour and striped thinly. The vest iscommonly worn in warm and hot weather on the shirt. The hats are alsoworn by men in order to combine the vests. The hats are not made of

cotton or wool in order toavoid sweating.

Costumes

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Sarı Kız Dance

Horon Dance

Samsun has a rich culture of folk dancesas it received a great number of emi-grants both from east and west. It hasalso received people from neighbouringcities and regions throughout itshistory. This combination provided awide range of folk dances in Samsun.The most common dances are likebelow.

It is generally performed in the towns ofSarı Kız (Blonde Girl)

Havza, Ladik and Vezirköprü. It is almost performed in all kind ofcelebrations or entertaining events in these towns and played for longyears. Although the name of the dance involves 'girl', it does not mean itis only performed by ladies. Many men perform this dance duringcelebrations. The dance includes flirting and wooing for both sides toother side. The folk dances of Samsun are rarely performed with ballad,but this game is performed in a circle made people singing ballad andholding up their arms and clapping their hands.

The name of the dance is belief to have derived from its song. Some kindmusic tone is mentioned that is subtle to play by the traditional instru-ment clarion in this game. It is a dance of welcoming and performed faceto face of each side. The fingers of the performers are rubbed in order tomake sound. The dance starts slowly and then goes faster to the climax.Each side makes a shape like a curtain to the other side during the game.The town.

Horon is the most known dance of Black Sea Region. Although it isgenerally attributed to cities of Trabzon, Rize and Artvin, it is commonly

Sağır Perde (Deaf Curtain)

Horondance is mostly attributed to Çarşamba

performed in all cities of Black Searegion. The dance is not played for onlyone specific event but many likeweddding, engagement ceremony,soldier send-off, plateu fests. It is a veryfast dance performed with local instru-ment 'Kemençe'. It is performed by onlywomen or men team and mixed team.The dance starts with slowfigures andmusic and then goes up to the climax atthe end.

Dance

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Black Sea Folk Dance

Bafra Watermelon Feast

Province of Samsun hasvarious festival throughoutyears. It involves a wide rangetheme; from folk dances tosport, tourism to food and etc.

Samsun has hosted the 'festivalof international folk dances' foralmost 35 years. Each yearmore than 20 countries

Black Sea Folk DancesFeast

participate in this festival. The festival lasts about one week. Beside thedance shows, many other cultural performances are shown during thefestivity. It is one of the biggest festival in the region Balkans, Black Seaand Caucasia.

The festival is organized every year in the town of Vezirköprü startingfrom the week of September. It includes different themes like wrestling,folk dances, local food, off-road races, tourism and so on. The festival isorganized in the Kunduz Forest which is the highest point of the Townand covered with tallest pines in the region. Some people set camps andtents and stay in the forest during the festival. Each year, differentsingers are invited to give concert for the festival.

Köprülü Mehmet Art and Sport Feast

Terme Golden Rice Feast

Paşa

As you can understand fromits name, the feast is basedon the rice which is grown inTerme county. Terme growsan important rate of riceproduced in all Black SeaRegion. Therice grown inTerme is called 'Kocaman'w h i c h m e a n s ' g i a n t 'adressing the size of the rice.The feast is organized everyyear in the first week ofJune. Some competitions of

Festivities

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quality among the harvests of farmers are organized and quality labelsare given to the producer. Giants pan are prepared to cook rice and it isdelivered to everyone who comes to feast free of charge. The organisa-tion includes the performances and concerts of the local singers andfolk dances.

Bafra is one of the pioneering county of Samsun in terms of agriculture.It supplies the demand of the whole province with the other town

The reason for the fertility of these soils are that two bigrivers of Turkey, Redriver and Greenriver, reaches to the sea fromthrough these towns. The plain of Bafra grows an important per cent ofwatermelon for Black Sea Region. In order to promote its productmunicipality of Bafra organizes watermelon feast every year. Thefarmers compete their watermelons in quality, taste, size and shape.Some also make handcrafts on watermelons and give interestingshapes. People are given watermelons free for charge during thefestival.

Bafra Watermelon Feast

Çarşamba.

Bridge on the Redriver

Kırgıl Village

Region of Samsun is rich in literatureespecially in tongue twisters, legendsand its public poets. The most knownlegends of Samsun are 'The Legend ofRedriver' and 'Curve Castle'.

One day there would be a wedding of ayoung man and young girl whosevillages were on the opposite sides ofRedriver. The bride was the only sisterof six brothers. The brothers prepared

Legend of Redriver

their sister for the traditional wedding ceremony, took her on the horseand brought to the bridge that connects their village to the groom'svillage. Unfortunately, while the bride on horse and bridemaids werecrossing the bridge, it suddenly collapsed and the river engulfed all ofthem. As soon as the groom heard the news, he ran to the riverside.However, neither the groom nor the others were found alive. From oneside of the river the groom and the brothers of the bride from the otherside sang elegies to the river that flowed so fast. From that day, peoplewho are going to married started to cross the bridge on the Redriver onthe wedding day to show their courage and not to have an unfortunatedestiny in the future.

Terme province is believed tobe a non-man made castle. It is believed to be constructed by God inorder to tie the ships in the time of Messenger Noah. If there is smokeabove the castle it means that the weather will be very bad. According tothe beliefs, the province of Terme was placed by sea at that times where

Legend of Curve CastleThe castle that is located in Kırgıl village of

there is a big plain now. As the castlewas high in that period, it was in theposition of wharf of ships. The publicused to meet the need of water fromcisterns and pools there the rain waterwas gathered just at the bottom of thecastle. After a long time the soil wascracked by an earthquake and thewater of the sea and the water of thecastle was mixed. Today, it is possibleto see seasand and seashelves whenyou dig some meters down.

Folk Tales

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Kaz (goose) Tirit

Oymaağaç Kebab

Kaz(goose) TiritTirit means the fat of theanimal. The fat of the goose isseparated from the meat andboiled with adding salt. Themeat is hung in front of a fireplace. It is cooked slowly by thefire. At the same time, rice iscooked with the fat separatedfrom the meat. When the meatis cooked, it is pinched intosmall pieces and put on therice.You can drink Ayran with Kaz Tirit which fits well. It is tasted withhandmade filo pastry bread. Kaz(goose) Tirit is mainly cooked in thetowns of Kavak, Ladik, Havza and Vezirköprü.

It is a kebab peculiar to village. It is cooked between May andNovember. It is tasted both hot and cold. What makes Kebabspecial is the goat meat that the kebab is made of. The goat meat is hungthrough a thick vole, placed in the specially prepared fire-place andcooked slowly by turning in front of the fire for about 3-4 hours.

You cannot find this bourek

Oymaağaç

Katık

Kebab

Bourek

OymaağaçOymaağaç

Katık Bourek is very special to Vezirköprü.in other areas. The crumbledwheat is put into water thenight before the bourek iscooked. It waits in water atleast 12 hours. The crumbledwheat swell up in the water.The wheat is mixed withcondensed yoghurt and somedill and parsley are added.Some salt and oil are also putin the mixture. The mixture isput in a tray of 1,5 -2cm thickthat is prepared with butterand placed in an oven. It iscooked until it becomes red.

Food

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Then the tray is taken out from the oven, turned upside down andreplaced again in the tray in reverse to cook the other side. When theother side also becomes red it is taken out of the oven and cut intosquared. It is recommended to eat hot and have a cup of tea with it.

The homeland of semaver is known as Vezirköprü. Semaver is amachine whose history dates back to Middle Asian Turks. However,Vezirköprü is famous for making semaver in today's Turkey. It is aspecial machine to make tea particularly for peasants working in thefields for harvesting. It is indispensable for villagers both in the fieldand at home and those who love going to picnic at the weekends.It has a body part where the water is put in and boiled a small part on theto put the pot. And there is a decker at the bottom to put up fire.Generally the fire is put up by small wood pieces at the beginning andthen special coal is added to keep the flame. Semaver tea tastes differentfrom the tea that is made in teapot at home.

Semaver Tea

Tulum

Kemençe

Like all other Black Sea Region cities,the music produced, composed or sungis tied to the instruments 'Tulum' and'Kemençe'.

Tulum is generally considered to be theancestor of Scottish Bagpipe. It has along history in Anatolia and Caucasiaand the most famous wind instrumentthroughout this geography. Tulum is

Tulum

made of goat skin whose feathers are completely removed. That's why itis generally. Unlike the Scottish Bagpipe, Tulum has only one pipet towhistle to make sound. It is produced by special masters who are veryrare nowadays. It is possible to hear the sound of Tulum at any corner ofthe region, especially in plateu fests. Tulum is played only for rhythm fordances without chants.

Although Kemençe is considered to be the only string instrument that ispeculiar to the Black Sea Region, it is also seen in inner and westernparts of the region and in Salonica and northern Greece as it wastransported by the immigrants. Kemençe is mostly made of mulberry,maple, spruce and plum trees. It has three strings on the stems and thesound is made by drawing a bow on these strings. Tulum is mostlyplayed while performing the regional dance 'Horon'. The length of theinstrument depends on the county ranging from 40 to 50 cm tall. Theinstrument seems to be sister of violin or viola but there is no evidence

Kemençe

that they have any relations.Samsun has brought upmany artists like actors,actresses painters andsingers. Some ofthe nation-ally famous musicians fromS a m s u n a r e O r h a nGencebay, Neyzen Tevfik

and Sagapo Kajmer.Kolaylı, Orhan Hakalmaz

Music

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by both Turkish Folk Music and Arabesque Music. He is not only asinger but also a composer and composed more than 400 songs. OrhanGencebay had acted in many movies.

Neyzen Tevfik was not born in Samsun but he was born to aFamily whose roots were tied to Samsun. The name Neyzen is not hisreal name indeed; it means a person who plays the Turkish musicinstrument 'Ney'. He got his first Ney education from a master at anearly age and then went on working by himself. Neyzen Tevfik became ofthe most prominent satirical artist of all times.

Orhan Hakalmaz was born in 1964 in Samsun. He got interested inmusic at early ages and started music by playing 'Turkish Ba lama' atthe age of 5. He first succeeded at a music competition when he was 8years old. He won the competition of stanbul Radio Amateur Voicewhen he was 8 years old. He entered stanbul Technical UniversityTurkish Music Government Conservatory in 1977. After graduation, hecontinued his master and doctorate, then became a university lecturer.Orhan Haklamaz resigned his duty at university in 2000. He is a well-known Ba lama master and a Turkish Folk Music singer.

His real name is Yunus Özyavuz and he uses Sagapo as his stage name.He was born in 1978 in Samsun. He started his music life as a dj at a localradio. Then he moved to Istanbul in 1997 to study at the university,department of Persian Language and Literature. In 1998 he establishedthe band Kuvvetmira. He released his first album 1998 in rap style andbecame a very famous rapper in Turkey. Sagapo devoted one of hisfamous songs to her daughter. After a police custody to some artistincluding Sagapo in previous years, Sagapo gave a pause to his music lifeand he has not been seen on the screens so often.

Neyzen Tevfik

Orhan Hakalmaz

Sagapo Kajmer

KolaylıKolaylı

ğ

İİ

ğ

Orhan Gencebay

Orhan GencebayOrhan Gencebay was born inSamsun in 1944. He started toplay violin and mandolin at theage of six. First he receivedclass ica l western musiceducation. He attendedandsucceeded in some radiocompetition in Ankara and

However, his careerin radios did not last long. Hereleased his fist album in 1971.His style has been impressed

İstanbul.

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