Twentieth-Century Turkish Panayır Entertainments.

Traditional Turkish fairs, panayır , were important as markets for goods and animals. In addition, they provided entertainments. These entertainments, which included carnival rides and stalls, changed from the early decades of the Republic to the 1970s. Early entertainments largely focused on sports, such as traditional oil wrestling and horse racing. From the 1950s on, entertainments such as rides and games of skill and chance featured more prominently. There were also significant continuities. Musical entertainments remained important. The musical entertainments, generally featuring scantily clad dancing girls, and the games of skill both appealed to notions of masculinity, and were part of the gendered nature of the entertainments. The changes over time were due to a combination of changes in transportation infrastructure and borrowings from American carnival culture. Romany groups in Turkey have remained central to panayır entertainments into the 21st century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]