Van Castle stages theater play with vibrant Urartian costumes

The theater team, wearing Urartu costumes, staged the play about the last period of the Urartians in Van Castle under the scope of the Museums Week activities in Van.

The activities organized by the Van Museum Directorate for the Museums Week continue.

In this context, a theater event was organized under the direction of Professor Adnan Tonel, a faculty member of Van Yuzuncu Yil University, Turkish Music State Conservatory Department.

In the event held in the section called “Mother and Daughter Sanctuary” in Van Castle, the actors wearing Urartian costumes, inspired by the inscriptions and paintings in the artifacts found, portrayed what happened in the last periods of the Urartian civilization.

The event, which witnessed colorful scenes, was appreciated by the audience. Professor Tonel told Anadolu Agency (AA) reporter that they had been preparing for the theater event for about 30 days.

Explaining that they reenacted the events that took place in the palace in the years before the collapse of the Urartian civilization, Tonel said.

“For the first time in Türkiye, a theater performance is being held in such an area. This is a source of pride for Van. We reenacted the last years of the Urartian Kingdom when Sarduri II and Rusha II took the throne. We told the story of Queen Kakuli, whom they brought from Assyria as a captive. This play gives us the opportunity to see the show business in the palace up close. We shed light on a 3,000-year period. We used original Urartian clothes. We plan to organize this event in Cavustepe and Ayanis castles,” Tonel added.

“Today we reenacted the Urartian period and life in the palace. We explained what they did, what kind of clothes they wore, and what their death ceremonies were like. We performed with Urartian costumes. Everyone who watched it liked it very much,” one of the actors, Dilara Tas, shared.

“I played the son of the king in today’s play. When the king died, I took the throne. It is an honor to perform in such a special place for the first time. The experience was quite exhilarating for us,” one of the participants from the theatre shared his experience.