Mersin University’s 13th Culture and Sport Festival (Kultur ve Spor Senligi) began on Monday and will continue until Friday. The festival consists of exhibitions, seminars, workshops and other events. On the Ciftlikkoy campus field there are food stalls, rides, a beer garden and other attractions.

The focal point of each festival day is always a concert in the evening on the athletics field. At last year’s festival I saw Kirac in concert on Natraj’s last night in Mersin. This year, Ozlem Tekin, Yasar, Hande Yener, Emre Aydin and Funda Arar, all big names in Turkish pop/rock, were performing. Concert entry this year is 4 YTL for students and a massive 7 YTL for non-students.

Monday night Orhan and I caught a bus to Mersin University’s Ciflikkoy Campus to see Ozlem Tekin live in concert. Ozlem Tekin is a American-born Turkish rock singer. Prior to the concert I didn’t recall hearing any of her music although I’m sure I had.

Beforehand there was the usual festival opening and fireworks display. Once that was over, Ozlem and her backing band, including string section, took to the stage.

Ozlem put on a great concert and looked a natural performer. The music rocked and the crowd got into it like a bunch of Turkish students can. Overall, the night was fun and Ozlem is a great live artist.

The following video is of the second song she performed. Can anyone help me with the title?

In the distance, guarding over the concert scene from a university building, were the following flags. I do not know if they were there because of the ‘situation‘ or for the festival in general as I didn’t see them last year.

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