Zeybek

In this Aegean dance, colorfully dressed male dancers, called "Efe", symbolize courage and heroism.
The Zeybek folk dance of Turkey differs in style depending upon the region. The speed of the movements can be fast or slow, but they all have 9 slow beats. This odd number of beats gives the Zeybek a distinctive rhythm not seen in other types of musical dance. The name of the Zeybek hails from the people who originated it. These people were the Zeybeks - warriors who lived in the mountainous regions of Turkey. The dance they performed mimicked the motions of hawks. This fluid form of movement later evolved into the Zeybek folk dance which is still performed in many regions of Turkey today. The gender of the dancers also makes a difference in how it will be performed. With all male dancers, there is a brief freestyle period before the rhythmic section of the Zeybek. When the participants are all female, there is no free movement period before the actual dance.

Kilic Kalkan

The Sword and Shield Dance of Bursa represents the Ottoman conquest of the city. It is performed by men only, dressed in early Ottoman battle dress, who dance to the sound of clashing swords and shields without music.

The Spoon Dance is performed from Konya to Silifke and consists of gaily dressed male and female dancers clicking out the dance rhythm with a pair of wooden spoons in each hand.

Horon:

This Black Sea dance is performed by men only, dressed in black with silver trimmings. The dancers link arms and quiver to the vibrations of the kemence, a primitive type of violin.

Traditional Turkish Folk Dances

Turkish folk dance is alive and varied. Each region of Turkey has its own characteristic dances with special costumes, steps, rhythms and instruments. Every region's dance reflects the characteristics of that region's people. Turkish people are very creative inventing new dances for different occasions. Folk dances have different characteristics based on region and location and are generally engaged in during weddings, journeys to the mountains in the summer, when sending sons off to military service and during religious and national holidays. The best known folk dances are:

Today in Anatolia, there are differences even between the clothing worn in different neighborhoods of the same village.

Daily, work and special day clothes are different. Hair styles during a wedding and after the bridal chamber differ. In markets, it is easy to identify which village people live in just from their clothes.