The 40th Iskele Festival started last night with a colorful opening ceremony.
The 12-day festival will feature dance shows, competitions as well as cultural and sports activities.
Last night’s opening ceremony started with a cycling race and a cortege walk to the Ecevit Square in the city.
Dance groups from Turkey, India, Lithuania, Mexico, Finland, Nigeria as well as the Iskele Muncipality which attended the 13th International Folk Dance Festival also performed shows during the opening ceremony.
A show was also performed by the aero sports federation.
Delivering a speech at the opening ceremony, the Mayor of Iskele Halil Orun said that the annual festival which had started as a sea festival(Deniz Panayırı) in Larnaka 40 years ago had become an international event today.
Also speaking at the festival, Prime Minister Ferdi Sabit Soyer said that the successful festival was one of the many events which proved the existence of the Turkish Cypriot people on the island.
The festival will continue till the 8th of July with various competitions, cultural and sports activities.
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