Turkish Pazar Festival

An autumn long weekend in Melbourne is a great time to explore Melbourne’s iconic locations and its exciting cultural diversity. The Turkish Pazar Festival on 9 and 10 March 2019 combines both of these. It will transform the Queen Victoria Market into a traditional Turkish street market, where visitors will experience the vibrant tastes, colours and sounds of Turkey through food, music, arts and crafts and cultural displays.

Numerous food stalls will entice the taste buds with an array of sweet and savoury flavours. Offerings include gözleme (savoury pancakes and now one of Melbourne’s traditional foods), kebabs (how many types are there?), lokma (delicious bites of wicked sweetness), Turkish Delight and baklava (sweet pastries). Follow this with an authentic Turkish coffee prepared on a hot bed of sand. Cultural displays will show the skills used in traditional arts and crafts and highlight the regional diversity of the Turkish world.

The day-long stage program will include overseas performer and local performers. Aydin Beyoglu from Turkey will enthral the crowd on both days. Local performers include Mutti Mutti musician Kutcha Edwards. Doga will present the cultural and linguistic diversity of the eastern Mediterranean through music. On both Saturday and Sunday a highlight will be the military precision of the colourful Australian Ottoman Mehter Band, the first Ottoman-style marching band formed outside Turkey. Folklore groups will perform on both Saturday and Sunday and children's activities are also available both days.

This all-day Festival is a celebration of Melbourne’s multiculturalism and provides a free, colourful and entertaining event suitable for people of all ages and abilities.