Every global culture has dozens of traditions associated with marriage and weddings.  Turkish culture is not an exception, but perhaps one of the richest cultures, as the country is the cradle of ancient civilizations that settled for 3,000 years.

The traditions and celebrations that take place before the wedding in Turkey begin with the groom’s family visiting the bride’s chosen family, called the “kız isteme” visit. Usually, the elderly and high-ranking people from both families gather at the bride’s family home to formally ask for her hand.

One of the prevailing customs that night is to serve Turkish coffee to all guests.  Then the groom's father, mother, or any important person in the family begins an introductory speech about the importance, reputation, and status of the family, ending with a traditional phrase meaning, "We want your daughter as our son's wife."  The bride's family, in turn, asks the chosen daughter for her consent, and if she expresses her acceptance, the two families determine the dates for the following events and occasions, which include the engagement party usually organized by the bride's family, the henna night, and the wedding night. On the henna night, the Turkish bride wears a red dress and sometimes a traditional abaya decorated with golden embroidery.  It is referred to as "bindallı".  A few minutes after the start of the celebration and the arrival of the guests, the bride enters the place with some of her friends who surround her and dance to the tunes of oriental music.  Then everyone begins to share the bride’s joy by dancing and chanting traditional wedding songs with joy and joy.  An atmosphere of enjoyment, joy, and participation prevails and even engulfs the place, even if among the guests are those like me who do not know anything about belly dancing or even understand the words and meanings of Turkish songs.