An Ottoman-era town in the central Eskişehir province, Odunpazarı, is hosting local and international glass artists at the 4th International Glass Art Festival. Having kicked off Monday at the town's Kurşunlu Social Complex, the festival is gathering professional names in glass art such as Colin Webster from the U.K., Nobuyuki Fujiwara from Japan and Steven Ciezki from the United States.

Designing three-dimensional glass objects, Ciezki gave a workshop on glassblowing at the historic social complex yesterday. Today's program will present Webster of the University of Creative Arts, as he will deliver a conference session at the same venue followed by a workshop. On the festival's third day, festival participants will meet Japanese artist Nobuyuki Fujiwara.

The festival will end Oct. 30. On the last day, the glass works created and designed during the festival will be displayed at an exhibition in the festival venue.

The festival will continue with music performances by Taksim Trio featuring prominent musicians Aytaş Doğan, Hüsnü Şenlendirici and İsmail Tunçbilek at the Yunus Emre Culture Center (YKSM) on Wednesday.

The town of Odunpazarı is one of the places where visitors can explore Ottoman-era civil architecture. Taking its place in UNESCO World Heritage's Tentative List, Odunpazarı has special examples of civil architecture with its mansions, historic residences, fountains and other urban elements shaping the traditional patterns of Turkish neighborhoods and social relationships. A typical 16th century structure, the Kurşunlu social complex is made up of a mosque and a public fountain together with an added museum, art workshop and library that compliments its architecture.