Yıldırım is ready for the 600-year-old Erguvan Festival

The 600-year-old historical tradition of the Ottoman Empire, which has been ongoing since the early 15th century in Bursa, an important center of the Ottoman Empire, is ready for the enthusiasm of the ‘Erguvan Festival’. All preparations have been completed for the joy of the Erguvan Festival, which heralds the arrival of spring in Bursa with the blooming of Judas trees, continuing the historical Ottoman tradition with colorful activities.
In our city, which Evliya Çelebi named as the ‘city with spiritual light circulating’, Yıldırım Municipality will organize a meaningful event on 23-24-25 May to keep the historical tradition of the Erguvan Festival alive. Yıldırım Municipality, in the 3rd Erguvan Festival, will host symposiums, panels, and music concerts with the participation of distinguished academics, while organizing Hacivat and Karagöz plays for children throughout the event. During the Erguvan Festival, Eşrefi soup and Ottoman sherbet will be served to the citizens for free.
Narrated through live performances, in the context of the Erguvan Festival activities, historical handicrafts such as tiles, naht, marbling, calligraphy, illumination, and glass blowing crafts will be passed on to the new generation by master craftsmen at an event organized in the garden of Emir Sultan Mosque in Yıldırım. Stands will be set up during the Erguvan Festival to exhibit and sell handmade products by women’s associations.
Yıldırım Mayor Oktay Yılmaz stated that they aim to pass on the Erguvan Festival from history to the new generations. Mayor Oktay Yılmaz said, ‘We invite all the people of Bursa, from 7 to 70, to the Erguvan Festival, which is one of the most rooted traditions of Bursa that strengthens unity and togetherness, while also heralding spring.’
Bilal Kemikli, Faculty Member of the Faculty of Theology at Uludağ University, stated that the Erguvan Festival symbolizes unity and togetherness, and said, ‘When the Judas trees bloom, just like Hıdırellez, it has gone down in history as a festival that brings people from different backgrounds and different schools of wisdom together to convey a message of unity and solidarity in the social sphere, showing the ways of being united, strong, and vibrant.’
Furthermore, it is known that every year during the spring season when Emir Sultan Hazretleri opens the flowers of the Judas trees, many people from surrounding cities come to join these lessons and conversation circles. The people gathered at the Emir Sultan lodge have caused these visits to take place in a festive atmosphere, and it is believed that the prayers recited have brought abundance to that year.