It organized a variety of activities in 8 branches (originally 7) and promoted the ideology of the ruling Republican People's Party, or CHP.
[1]: 2 The halkevi opened with only 7 branches: Language and Literature, Fine Arts, Representation, Sport, Social Assistance, Library and Publication, and Villagers.
[3]: 871 A local journalist wrote that, during the day, the place was empty except for a handful of students playing billiards; he criticized the halkevi's inactivity, comparing it to a "deserted neighborhood".
[3]: 872 Also in 1936, First Inspector-General Abidin Özmen made various inspections in Urfa and left a report saying that, while the halkevi building was functional, it was small and should be expanded next year.
[4] For example, on 4 April 1939, thousands of people gathered in front of the Urfa halkevi, where loudspeakers were set up to broadcast the news of the 6th Parliament of Turkey's first convening and its renewal of İsmet İnönü as president for a second term.
[4] With the beginning of the multi-party era in Turkish politics in 1950, when the Democrat Party came to power nationwide, the entire halkevi program became a source of criticism as an organ of the CHP.
[1]: 163 Urfa governor İsmail Hakkı Baykal and lawyer Ömer Alagöz ended up filing a joint lawsuit to nullify the CHP's deed to the land.
[3]: 872 In addition to language studies, this branch also undertook historical research on monuments and artifacts from Urfa, as well as from other towns in the province like Siverek and Viranşehir.
[3]: 874 The Representation branch also took part in national holiday events, such as the Victory Day celebrations, where for example they performed a play called Akıl Taciri in 1945.
[3]: 874 Its goal was to increase interest in various sports and it had four branches: Football, Swimming, Equestrianism, and Athletics (which included boxing and wrestling).
[3]: 874 The halkevi's football team organized trips to Gaziantep, Mardin, and Diyarbakır — only nearby cities; they could not afford to travel farther — and played matches there.
[3]: 874 In March 1943, a billiards setup, which had been in storage for a long time, was taken out of the warehouse and repaired and installed in the halkevi's main hall.
[4] The Social Assistance branch (Sosyal Yardım Şubesi) focused on activities giving aid to people in need, such as the poor, young, old, disabled, and sick.
[3]: 875 In 1943, the Social Assistance branch teamed up with the Child Protection Agency to provide food to poor children in primary and secondary schools.
[3]: 875 However, a local government document from June 1940 requesting a radio with an accumulator for the halkevi (there were problems with electricity due to a lack of diesel fuel) indicates that there were challenges in implementing this policy.
[3]: 877–8 In general, while the halkevi aimed to raise the status of women, traditional patriarchal social structures were strongly entrenched in eastern Turkey and difficult to overcome.