The 2nd Galenos Daisy Festival Has Begun in Bergama!
Bergama, where history and medicine meet, has opened its doors with the "2nd Daisy Festival." Celebrating the legacy of the revolutionary physician Galenos and the arrival of spring, the event carries the city's thousands-year-old festival tradition into the future by blending it with Japanese culture.
12punto
IZMIR / BERGAMA – Bergama, the meeting point of history, science, and nature, is hosting great excitement today. The "2nd Daisy Festival," organized in memory of Galenos, one of the greatest physicians of the ancient world, has opened its doors accompanied by daisies, the symbol of spring.
Bergama's thousands-year-old tradition of being a "city of festivals" is being revived with the Daisy Festival, the city's second-largest festival following the historic Kermes initiated under the directive of Atatürk. The event, held for the second time this year, stands out not only as a spring celebration but also as a project to uphold the legacy of Galenos, a great value the city has gifted to world medical history.
GALENOS: FROM A FORGOTTEN IDENTITY TO A STATUE IN THE SQUARE
The process of "remembering Galenos," which began in the 1990s with panels and the naming of a street after him, continues to bear fruit today. While the statue of Galenos erected in Republic Square continues to introduce this great name, one of the founders of medical science, to both the people of Bergama and future generations, the festival further strengthens this historical bond.
FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF OSMAN BAYATLI, HAND IN HAND WITH JAPANESE CULTURE
The festival calendar displays a meaningful example of loyalty by beginning just two days after the anniversary of the death (April 16) of the great scholar Osman Bayatlı, who introduced Bergama's local history and folklore to the world.
Behind the organization lies a story of great effort and friendship. The intense efforts of tourism professional Sait Tez in bringing the festival to life, and the contributions of Kaori Goto, who took on the role of the idea's originator and integrated Japanese culture with Bergama, are further strengthening the city's cultural bridges.
The first day of the festival will be crowned with a meaningful talk. At the event held today at 18:00 in Republic Square, Bergama's past, present, and Galenos's place in the medical world were discussed.
All friends of art and history who wish to breathe in the spirit of those magnificent festivals of ancient cities—where one would end as another began—to welcome spring with daisies, and to follow the healing traces of Galenos are invited to Bergama.