site.btaBTA National Press Club in Ankara Hosts Poster Exhibition of Bulgarian Plays Staged in Turkiye

An exhibition of posters for theatre productions of plays by Bulgarian playwrights staged in Turkiye were be presented at the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) National Press Club in Ankara on Monday. The event also marked the official introduction of Ayse Sali as BTA’s new correspondent in the Turkish capital.

The exhibition features posters from productions of Bulgarian plays translated into Turkish by Professor Huseyin Mevsim, one of the most renowned and dedicated promoters of Bulgarian literature and art in Turkiye.

Among the featured productions are Roman Bath by Stanislav Stratiev, Lazaritsa by Yordan Radichkov, I’m Paying by Yves Jamiaque, directed by Vladlen Alexandrov, The Murder of Gonzago by Nedyalko Yordanov, and two plays by Hristo Boychev: Orchestra Titanic and The Colonel’s Wife.

Bulgarian Ambassador to Turkiye Angel Cholakov said that Bulgarian culture is liked in Turkiye, it is appreciated and sought after. "Over the past years, all of us present here have managed to elevate Bulgarian culture in Turkiye to new stratospheres. In this great cultural flight, theatre has a special place," he added.

BTA Director General Kiril Valchev described the event as a bridge between generations seeking a path to friendship between neighbours. “With the opening of the exhibition of Prof. Mevsim, we officially present BTA's new correspondent in Ankara, Ayse Sali, who succeeds the person behind the exhibition's preparation, Nora Cholakova, BTA's first correspondent in Ankara after the reopening of the correspondent's office in Turkiye on February 2, 2023,” he stressed.

Anadolu Agency Editor-in-Chief Yusuf Ozhan greeted the Bulgarian News Agency's new Ankara correspondent Ayse Sali and promised her that she would not be alone. He also congratulated Prof. Mevsim, who he said had created a bridge between two countries and two cultures with his many years of work.

Journalist Ayse Sali, who takes over as BTA correspondent in the Turkish capital, said that she takes her appointment as BTA correspondent in Ankara as a great responsibility and as an opportunity to present "new nuances and a new picture" of what is happening in the country.

Sali holds a degree in Portuguese Philology from Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski. Her journalistic career began at the BGNES agency, after which she joined the team of the Bulgarian National Television, where she gained 10 years of experience. She is the author of documentaries on Bulgarian violinist Vesko Panteleev-Eschkenazy, pianist Richard Clayderman, and the restored Library of Alexandria in Egypt. She was a special correspondent for Bulgarian National Television during the devastating earthquakes in Turkiye on February 6, 2023. In the years that followed, she produced a series of reports tracking the country’s recovery, as well as key developments in areas strategic to the Bulgarian-Turkish partnership.

Prof. Huseyin Mevsim said that the centuries-long mutual coexistence of Bulgarians and Turkish people on one geographical area has contributed to the cultivation of many common features in their behavior and mentality. He did not presume to list everything that brings the two peoples closer and unites them, but in his opinion the greatest crossing seems to be in their true love of the 'seir' (a Bulgarian and Turkish word meaning 'spectacle'), a word common to both languages. "And what is theatre if not a seir," rhetorically asked Prof. Mevsim.

A significant portion of the exhibition is dedicated to posters from various Turkish theatres that have staged works by Stefan Tsanev, who is considered the most frequently performed Bulgarian playwright in Turkiye. These include Mystery with a Horse, Everybody Crazy Loves Me, and The Other Death of Joan of Arc.