By Manal Abdel Fattah
Director of the Turkish Cultural Center in Cairo, the Yunus Emre Institute, Emin Poyraz, said that there are strong and common historical and cultural relations between Egypt and Turkey that extend back hundreds of years.
This came during an event held by the Turkish Cultural Center in Cairo, the Yunus Emre Institute, in cooperation with the American University, yesterday evening, entitled “Egypt’s Albums in the Photo Collection of Sultan Abdul Hamid II,” on the occasion of the centenary of the Turkish Republic.
The director of the Turkish Cultural Center added that there is strong cooperation and interaction between the two countries, starting from the cultural level to the artistic level, and from the economic level to the educational level, stressing that cooperation is constantly developing over the days.
He added: There are many common elements between Turkey and Egypt, as Turkey ranks first in terms of the interest of our Egyptian friends in coming to Turkey and learning the Turkish language and culture closely, and Turkish society also shows great interest towards Egypt and the Egyptian people.
He added: The interest shown by the Turkish people and the friendship they have for Egypt is not new today, but rather dates back to ancient times, and an example of this is evident in the Egyptian albums of Sultan Abdul Hamid II, which are the subject of our symposium and exhibition.
He continued that the collection located in Yildiz Palace in Turkey, which was the personal residence of Sultan Abdul Hamid II in Istanbul, includes pictures of more than fifty countries, among which Egypt’s albums occupy a special place, as they depicted Egypt’s antiquities from ancient times until the nineteenth century.
The director of the Turkish Cultural Center added: We are pleased to confirm our relationship between the two countries and their people, continuing: Today, I recall with all gratitude, love and appreciation the memory of Sultan Abdul Hamid II for his defense of the Palestinian territories, as he holds a special place in the heart of every person who lives not only in Turkey but in that entire region. .
He continued: We, the Yunus Emre Institutes, which are present in more than sixty countries around the world, seek to build bridges of friendship between different cultures. Our institute, whose name is named after the name of the great poet and mystic Yunus Emre, who lived in the fourteenth century, also seeks to consolidate the bonds of friendship. In Egypt, as is the case in countries around the world, where Yunus Emra Centers are located, taking our poet’s saying, “Let’s get to know each other.”
The event was attended by the Turkish Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şan, the Director of the Yunus Emre Institute in Cairo, Emin Boyraz, and a number of representatives of Arab and foreign diplomatic missions, in addition to a group of Egyptian academics.
As part of the event, an exhibition was opened containing selected photos from Egypt’s albums preserved in Yildiz Palace in Turkey.
The exhibition, held on the campus of the American University in Tahrir, will receive the public between 10 am and 6 pm until next January 2.
