Hidrellez: Turkey's spring festival on 5-6 May

On the night of 5 May Turkey celebrates Hidrellez, the arrival of spring, and if your tour starts in Istanbul in the first week of May you can walk into the middle of it.

What it is

The name joins two figures: Hizir, the immortal saint of Islamic folklore who comes to the aid of travellers and the needy, and Ilyas (Elijah). Tradition says the two meet on earth once a year on this night, and that wishes made then are granted. It is far older than its name - the same date is the Greek St George's day, the Bulgarian Gergyovden and the old Anatolian start of summer - and it is marked from the Balkans to the Caucasus.

How it is celebrated

In the evening people write their wishes on paper, draw them in the earth or tie them to a rose bush, because Hizir passes by the roses. Bonfires are lit and jumped over for luck. Food is left out overnight so that Hizir will touch it, and purses are left open so that he will fill them. At dawn the water is said to carry his blessing, so people wash their faces in a river or the sea.

In Istanbul

The festival belongs above all to Istanbul's Roma communities, who have kept it loud. Ahirkapi, the neighbourhood tucked below Sultanahmet against the sea walls, holds the famous street party: clarinets and darbuka drums, dancing in the lanes until the small hours, a bonfire on the shore, and tens of thousands of people. Kadikoy and some Bosphorus villages have their own. The public celebrations change year to year with the city authorities; your guide will know where that year's party is.

Elsewhere

Edirne, near the Bulgarian border, holds the Kakava festival over the same two days, the largest Roma gathering in the country. Villages across Anatolia light fires on the hills.

On our tours

Istanbul departures leave on Mondays; if 5 May falls in your first days in the city, the evening is yours after the day's sightseeing and Ahirkapi is a ten-minute walk from the Sultanahmet hotels. May is also, for other reasons, one of the best months to travel - see when to visit Turkey and the departures page for the dates.