"TURKEY SEASON" BEGINS IN FRANCE

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
01.07.2009 14:15 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish Culture & Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay
and his French counterpart Frederic Mitterrand formally launched the
"Turkey Season" activities in Paris on Tuesday.

The activities will last about nine months in France.

"These activities will be an opportunity to eliminate prejudice
of French people and to promote Turkey," Gunay told a joint press
conference with Mitterrand.

Gunay said that activities would boost relations between the two
countries, and lay the groundwork of new cooperation.

The Turkish minister said knowing each other would help overcome
problems among people, and development of cultural relations would
contribute to solution of other problems.

Also, Mitterrand said that the French had "always respected to Turkey’s
history, civilization and culture."

Also, Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe will hand over the key of Paris
to Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk, director Nuri Bilge Ceylan and
photographer Ara Guler.

More than 300 artistic and cultural events promoting Turkey will take
place in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Strasbourg and some other French
cities during the "Turkey Season" organized with an almost 30 million
Euro budget.

France will host 42 exhibitions during the season.

A total of 880,000 French people visited Turkey last year, and almost
400,000 Turkish citizens are living in France, AA reported.