An Evening with Karagoz and Hacivat: A Glimpse at Traditional Turkish Shadow Puppet Theater with Cliff Long

Karagoz and Hacivat are traditional Turkish shadow puppet characters whose heritage stretches from ancient China to Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe over the centuries. Cliff Long of the Crescent Moon Theater began the evening with a slide show illustrating the long history of shadow puppetry and its characters. He then performed several scenes from traditional Hacivat and Karagoz stories.

It was held at the City of Fairfax Regional Library (Fairfax,VA) on March 28, 2012 as a public outreach program of the Ali Vural Ak Center for Global Islamic Studies "Beyond Golden Age and Decline," a National Endowment for the Humanities 'Bridging Cultures' project.

Cliff Long is an anthropologist, puppeteer, historian, and entertainer. He has served as an historic interpreter and programs coordinator at a number of museums and cultural facilities across the country. Currently he teaches courses focusing on the cultures and traditions of the Old Silk Road at The Community of College of Baltimore County and Howard Community College in Maryland. Crescent Moon Karagoz Shadow Puppet Theater is Cliff's most recent endeavor.

The event was co-sponsored by Fairfax County Public Libraries.