The International Kahramanmaraş Karacaoğlan Ashik, Minstrel, and Poets Festival stands as a prestigious annual celebration of the city’s deep-seated bardic traditions and oral literature. Since its inception in the early 2020s, this gathering has quickly become a cornerstone of the city’s literary calendar, organized through the collaboration of the Kahramanmaraş Metropolitan Municipality and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Each year, the festival hosts a diverse group of ashiks, minstrels, and poets from across Türkiye and the Turkic world, including participants from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Iran. The programme is a vibrant showcase of traditional arts where the centuries-old craft of spontaneous, rhythmic dialogue and poetic competition comes to life. These performances, often accompanied by the soulful melodies of the bağlama, invite readers and cultural enthusiasts to witness a living history that spans from the historic Afşin district to the heart of the city centre.
As a cornerstone of Kahramanmaraş’s identity as a UNESCO City of Literature, the festival plays a crucial role in the preservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage. By ensuring that these unique forms of expression are passed on to future generations, the event reinforces the city’s status as a global hub for literary and oral traditions. Today, this annual gathering continues to foster international cultural exchange, celebrating the unifying and timeless power of the word.
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