The organisers of the Sedgefield Slow Festival will be hosting 6 members of the Cittaslow Town of Halfeti in Turkey, all of whom are Slow Food Convivium food fundi’s and talented cooks.

Mosque of Halfeti – photo by Bernard Gagnon

“As a committee we are so excited to meet and host our international guests,” said Festival organiser Amanda Dixon. “As one of its original goals since starting 7 years ago, The Slow Festival has aimed to connect & collaborate with another international Cittaslow towns. And it’s all about to finally happen this week!”

Turkish guests to be hosted are the Şanlıurfa Metropolitan Municipality Chief Supervisor, the Haliliye Municipality Vice President, Halfeti City Council President, Slowfood Convivium Leader, Food Technology Teacher and Halfeti Slowfood Member, Halfeti Slow Food Cook and Halfeti Slow Food Instructor.

Asking the Halfeti City Council President, Slowfood Convivium Leader Mr.Nihat Özdal how it all came about, he replied, “A geography magazine published 10 quietest cities of the world. In this list there were our town of Halfeti and Sedgefield. After that we saw the Slow Festival in social media. We found it so impressive and significant for slow philosophy. You are organising this event in one of the most beautiful cities of the world. A similar event exist in Namyangju, South Korea. We decided that the 3 quietest cities must meet in your Festival. But Namyangju crew have another event in same date. Now two of them will meet in your festival!”

He ended saying, “With this visit our purpose is to improve relationships between two towns and share experiences. We are curious about your town and look forward to our visit!”

The Turkish visitors will be showcasing handicrafts such as mother of pearl inlaid copper, embroidery, stone carvings, paper marbling, mosaics and felt and introducing thier traditional foods such as steak tartar a la turca, kebeb with eggplant, chickpea roll, turkish delight with Rose, terebinth coffee, Halfeti pistachio, dried fig and apricots.

Halfeti, Turkey- is famous for their Black Roses.

The organisers would like to acknowledge and sincerely thank ‘Eagles Nest’ for sponsoring our guest’s accommodation for the duration of their stay. Thanks must be made to Belinda Hobson, office manager Sedgefield of K&P, for securing this accommodation.

And so, with the imminent intercontinental meeting of 2 of the slowest cities in the world, be sure to diarise the dates to come and meet our Turkish guests on the Village Green in Sedgefield during the Slow Festival (25- 27  March).