Merhaba!
Sorry for writing in English in the Turkish forum... but I thought that this
might be the best place to find answers to my question.
We're looking for typical Turkish games that children would play or even adults,
games that can be played with simple means in the open air. We are organizing a
small cultural festival and we would like to have some typical Turkish
activities in the festival. So I would be very grateful for your suggestions!
Güle güle
Klaas

Hi Couchista
Here is the explanation about the game called Korebe;

The Turkish name for this game is Korebe It was a very popular game among 4- to
8-year old children. The game is played by about 5 to 10 children. At the
beginning of the game, one person is chosen to be 'it' , and then the eyes of
that kid are covered with a kind of blindfold. When the game starts, the person
who is 'it' —the blindfolded person—tries to catch the other kids. If
someone is caught, that child becomes the new 'it' , and the game starts over.
Every child in Turkey knows this game!

Also we have a game called yerdenyuksek(higher than the ground or stg.
similar);
it is played by a group of children. you need two parallel platforms to play the
game(normally two parallel platforms higher than the ground level with an
opening between them for at least 10 meters or so). all children are initially
on this platforms and the chosen one stands between the platforms.
the aim of the chosen player is to touch the others while they try to run to the
next platform. If he/she touches one of the players then that person becomes the
new 'it' . Players can return to their own platforms after they start their
motion and many players can move at the same time. Players can only be touched
when they are not on the platforms.

Hope i could explain it clearly
Enjoy the games
Bye

Hi,

The most popular one both among the kids and the adults is "uzun eşşek",
literally meaning "long donkey":)

saklambaç, yakartop-can-istop-ortada sıçan, ip atlama, seksek, 9aylık,
misket..... can't translate and tell rightnow :P

Hello Klaas,
I found some websites in internet which are describing some traditional games
from countries.. maybe u would like to look..,
%

http://www.topics-mag.com/edition11/games-section.htm
http://www.gameskidsplay.net/games/foreign_indexes/index.htm
http://www.centerofweb.com/kids/games/xtra_games.htm

I will be happy if you send us a link of your festival and some videos or some
photos after it.. 
It should be nice to see different culture's children games..

I remember when I was a child, there was a TV program that teaching these
outdoor games from different countries..and we were playing these games just
after watching them.. :)  
Have fun in your festival..
Greetings from istanbul

Hi,

I can add köşe kapmaca -corner snatching- and (if you count the sea as outdoor,
actually it is), deve güreşi -camel wrestling-.

And yes, please don't miss uzun eşşek! It is a very funny and harsh one :))

Cheers.
Alper

check these videos :)

yakartop: http://youtube.com/watch?v=9hE2bAhGu74 

uzun eşek: http://youtube.com/watch?v=_7mqnZEHunI 

birbirbir: http://youtube.com/watch?v=q3LZ5ZjLLL8