12-year-old Carlow girl to feature in award-winning documentary tomorrow night

A 12-year-old girl from Carlow will feature in an award-winning travel documentary series when it airs tomorrow night. 

Illayda has documented herself travelling to Turkey for RTÉ2's JourneyCam: International. 

Ilayda, who is proud of her Irish-Turkish roots, travels with her family to Nazilli in Western Turkey to visit her grandmother.

While there, she discovers the local love for tea, explores the ancient ruins of Hierapolis, dips into the mineral-rich
pools of Pamukkale, tries some sweet sticky bakalva, and takes a traditional Zeybek dance lesson with local school children. 

The highlight of her journey is learning Turkish lacemaking from her grandmother.

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"Being a part of the show was such an amazing experience. My highlight was definitely spending time with my family and to show Ireland the wonderful traditions of my Turkish family," Illayada said. 

The series sees a number of children with connections to other parts of the world document their travels to those countries using a 'JourneyCam.'

Each episode offers a window into the cultures, stories, and traditions that shape their identities.

"This new series of JourneyCam is the most fun yet, with some really amazing young Irish filmmakers doing an incredible job showing us around all sorts of far-flung places. These curious young people share really personal accounts of places they have a deep connection with and give us personal guided tours where we, the audience, get to authentically experience their diverse cultural backgrounds and family origins," a spokesperson for Dyehouse Films, the producer of the show, said. 

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From colourful festivals to the rhythms of everyday life, viewers are brought along with the children as they meet extended
family, dive into local traditions, and explore the connections between their heritage and their life in Ireland.

South Africa, Spain, and Turkey are just a few of the countries to feature in this year's series.

Illayada will be the star of the series' first episode back, with it airing on RTÉ2 tomorrow at 12:35pm.