T

he Indonesian Students Association (PPI) in Istanbul held a cultural day to introduce Indonesia to its hosts. Supported by the Indonesian Consulate General in the city, the event was organized at Istanbul Technical University.

Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) in Istanbul such as Mozaik and Dimes also supported the event.

The Indonesian Cultural Day was held on Dec. 22, started at 2:30 p.m. and finished at 4:30 p.m.

Many visitors from Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Nigeria, Germany, Malaysia, Turkey and Indonesia itself attended the event.

Most of the visitors knew a little bit of information about Indonesia, but there were also a few who could speak Indonesian among the visitors from Turkey and Africa.

The event was prepared by a committee. At the entrance the visitors were served traditional dishes, such as noodles, martabak (pancakes) and bakwan (corn fritters), that they could enjoy freely.

As well as food there were many traditional handicrafts such as batik, Papuan bags, kipas (fans) that allowed visitors to learn about Indonesian handicrafts.

At the opening of the program, all visitors stood and sang the Indonesian national anthem, “Indonesia Raya”, proudly and with respect.

Afterward, many dances from Sabang to Merauke were performed; Balinese, Riau, Betawi, Padang and the most popular Saman dance were performed by Indonesian students who were staying in Instanbul. There were also presentations to introduce Indonesia by giving slide shows and even cat walk shows to showcase Indonesian traditional clothes.

Amazingly, the cat walk shows were modeled by foreigners visitors. Between the programs there was a quiz about Indonesia, with special prizes from Indonesia such as Balinese clothes and CDs about Indonesia.

Ahmad Nursalim
Istanbul, Turkey