Hıdrellez Spring Festival

Hıdrellez marks the start of the pastoral summer, the day when Hızır and İlyas are said to meet on earth, and it falls on 6 May - the old Saint George's day, which is not a coincidence. The customs are consistent across the country and older than any of the religions attached to them: people write or draw a wish and bury it under a rose bush or tie it to a branch, throw something they want rid of into running water, jump over a bonfire, and eat and sing outdoors through the night. In Edirne and across Thrace it is the biggest night of the year, celebrated jointly by Turkish and Roma communities, with the Roma celebration - Kakava - centred on the Tunca riverbank: drums and clarinets, dancing until dawn, and a procession into the river at first light. UNESCO inscribed Hıdrellez on its intangible heritage list in 2017, jointly with North Macedonia. The music is the part visitors remember.

What you actually see

• The wish rituals - notes buried under rose bushes and tied to branches.
• The bonfires - jumped for luck at dusk.
• The Kakava music - drums and clarinets on the Tunca bank.
• The dawn river - the procession into the water at first light.

When to go

The evening of 5 May into the morning of 6 May, every year. Edirne fills - accommodation books out well ahead.

Honest expectations

It runs all night and is genuinely crowded, loud and chaotic. Edirne's hotels fill weeks in advance. It is a community celebration rather than a staged event - join in or watch, but it is not organised for spectators.

Nearby

Edirne's Selimiye and old bazaar are in the town; the Kırkpınar wrestling ground is on the same meadow.