Hıdrellez

Almost all cultures -one way or another- celebrate the revival of nature during months of spring. This may mean whale-racing in Alaska's Naluqatak festival or penis-hugging in Japan's Kanamara Matsuri. Though not to be confused with the political uprisings, coming of spring is celebrated in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries since the old ages. Originally a tradition of Roman gypsies, Hıdrellez (Ederlezi in Roman and Newroz in Kurdish) is a spring festival celebrated by Turks on May 6th; the day when the two brother prophets, Hıdır and İlyas, are believed to unite on earth.

"Hope Eren dies of love, but Damla never forgives him." (1)

As part of the tradition, on the eve of May 5th, people gather and dance around a large fire to celebrate the coming of this unification. It is believed that before he meets his brother at sunrise, Hıdır spends the night walking on earth to bring prosperity and fertility for the living (İlyas doing the same thing in water). As he travels around, he visits people's houses and collects their wishes for the year. It is very important that your house is clean on that day, otherwise he will regard it as a disrespect, and may choose not to favor any of your wishes for a whole year.

My tree of wishes

Hıdır allegedly loves roses; so men and women draw their wishes on a piece of paper, and bury it under a rose tree on the eve of his expected arrival. The wish will only come true though, if you make the effort to collect the buried paper and throw it in the sea (or river) at sunrise. Because apparently, the two brothers meet at sunrise where sea meets the land. Some draw their wishes with pebbles -again, under a rose tree- and wake up before dawn to muddle the stones; this is done so nobody but Hıdır knows what you wished for. Others write their wishes down on a paper, wrap the paper with a coin in red cloth, and then tie the wrap on a branch of a rose tree. The red wrap is then collected in the morning, and carried in a purse -unopened- until next Hıdrellez. 

Gypsies at Parkorman (2)

On May 6th, people gather in picnic areas and celebrate Hıdrellez by singing, dancing and feasting all day. The tradition has become very popular in  Ahırkapı, İstanbul where it is observed by Roman gypsies who live there. This year, to ensure security and avoid the crowds, the municipality allocated the celebration to other parts of the city including Parkorman. Still, streets of Ahırkapı was jammed with gypsy musicians from around the world, and with people dancing on top of each other. As for me, I spent Hıdrellez in Datça, Muğla, where my parents have a summer house. Luckily, we have three rose trees in our garden, each with dozens of roses on them that would make even Hıdır himself jealous. Well, I had to follow the tradition and put our rose trees to use. But not knowing which form of wish Hıdır would prefer, I followed mom's advice and went with both the pebbles and the red wrap. Myth or not, endowment had to be guaranteed.

Locals eat lots of meat at Hıdrellez picnic

The next day, Dad and I joined the traditional 17 km (~10 mi) Hıdrellez walk. It was our first participation, though the event is held by Datça Municipal every year for the last 13 years. The walk starts at the city center, which is on the bank of Mediterranean Sea, and ends on the other side of Datça peninsula that borders the Aegean Sea. As part of the tradition, two jugs (testi) are filled up with Mediterranean seawater, carried to the other side, and poured into the Aegean waters (by the Mayor himself!). The walk ends at a seaside picnic area, where hundreds of locals that live in the villages of Datça gather for the festivities. For me and Dad, the best part of the walk was the Roman gypsy band following us along the route; we didn't notice how long we walked thanks to the sounds of davul zurna (drum and horn). Here, watch my dad as he helps the level of Aegean Sea rise, accompanied by local gypsy musicians.

Note: Photographs (1) and (2) are courtesies of Koray Akten.