Situated on the slopes of mythological Mt Ida,Tahtakuslar Ethnographical Museum is a UNESCO award-winning venue exhibiting the art and culture of the Turkmens.

It’s the 40th day after the spring equinox and the village of Tahtakuslar on Kaz Dagi, a mountain in southwestern Turkey, is celebrating the arrival of spring. Everyone was up early that morning. Women and girls donned their traditional costumes for the walk to the cemetery, bearing cheese, olives, bundles and votive offerings. Decorating their ancestors’ graves with flowers, the people then lit a fire there and cooked their food. Everyone exchanged warm holiday greetings, old disagreements were forgotten, votive offerings distributed. Even the olive trees witnessed the spectacle with joy. Clouds, sky, all of nature bore witness to the celebration. Among them there was also a little girl, her dress covered with blue beads to ward off the evil eye. Her mother had dressed her that morning with loving care and whispered in her ear,