Karagöz will take over Istanbul as a part of the Karagöz Festival, ongoing until Oct. 1.

Karagöz, the generic name given to traditional Turkish shadow theater, was officially recognized by UNESCO as a piece of intangible cultural heritage.

Differing from other shadow plays with its unique characters and sense of humor, Karagöz has been the main theme of various festivals around Anatolia for years.

For the first time this year, the Karagöz Festival will be held in Istanbul through the organization of the Karagöz Foundation.

The festival is taking place across Istanbul, hosting various activities for both children and adults. After each performance, audiences will be gifted various Karagöz models to encourage the creation of new shadow plays.

The festival will also offer Karagöz puppet-making workshops where children and young adults can learn to build shadow puppet characters from scratch, an activity designed to pass down this shadow theater tradition to future generations.

Veteran artists who have dedicated their lives to this traditional shadow art will be recognized by the Karagöz Foundation and they will be presented awards.

This unique city-wide festival will continue until Sunday and additional information about the event can be found on the organization's official website.