ARTS AND CULTURE

Ankara is a center for opera, ballet, jazz and modem dance, as well as home of the prestigious Presidential Symphon Orchestra. Ankara benefits from a large number of theatres staging many ambitious productions. In addition to public and private galleries throughout the city, exhibitions are also held at the Ataturk Cultural Center. The city also has many cinemas showing the best Turkish and foreign films, and there are a number of film festivals with various themes throughout the year, in particular the International Film Days in March. Every year in April and May the city hosts the Sevda Cenap And International Arts and Music Festival with performances by the finest Turkish and foreign musicians. The Children's Festival on April 23 is also quite an event, with groups of children from all over the world taking part. There is also an International Cartoon Film Festival and the Asian-European Arts Biennial scheduled sometime in the spring or summer. Altin Park is home to the Ankara Fairgrounds where lovely fairs are held year-round.