Keskek gets UNESCO Nod

A UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) intergovernmental board met for one week in Bali, Indonesia to discuss "living" cultural practices, examining oral traditions, art forms and generational rituals. This cultural traditions were evaluated based on their importance to their originating society and their danger of becoming extinct. Those selected were then added to the "List of Intangible Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding." 'Respect,' 'Harmony' and 'Cultural Values': These traditions are crucial not just from a historical or aesthetic perspective, but from a very pressing cultural one. They bind communities together, convey a country or people's outlooks and ideals and can even serve very practical, social purposes. 
Mavi Boncuk | 


Keskek (Turkey): Ceremonial meat or chicken cooked in wheat or barley stew. Found in Iranian as well as Turkish cuisine, it is a common meal consumed during religious festivals, weddings and funerals. 


Shadow Puppetry (China): A form of theater involving colorful silhouette figures performing against a back-lit cloth screen. The puppeteer's skill, which include crafting the dolls, manipulating the puppets and employing improvisational singing and music playing, are passed down in families and troupes from master to pupil.


Tsiatista (Cyprus): A duel between warring poets, this tradition celebrates quick wits and a rich vocabulary. Competitors try to outdo each other by constructing improvising, elaborate verses of rhyming couplets. 
(Looks like Asik Atismasi: See above) 


2011 Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity 
Ceremonial Keşkek tradition Turkey


2010 Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity 
Kırkpınar oil wrestling festival Turkey
Semah, Alevi-Bektaşi ritual Turkey
Traditional Sohbet meetings Turkey


2009 Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity 
Âşıklık (minstrelsy) tradition Turkey Karagöz Turkey
Novruz, Nowrouz, Nooruz, Navruz, Nauroz, Nevruz Azerbaijan – India – Iran (Islamic Republic of) – Kyrgyzstan – Pakistan – Turkey – Uzbekistan


2008 Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity 
The Arts of the Meddah, Public Storytellers Turkey
The Mevlevi Sema Ceremony Turkey