Turkey – Manal El Warraky:
Within the framework of the development witnessed by Turkish-Arab relations, an Arab delegation including a group of journalists from Egypt, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and the Arab Maghreb visited several Turkish cities, as part of an official visit, to learn about the development process, within the framework of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two sides, which Turkey aspires to Developing and promoting it in various fields, especially tourism, culture and economy, as well as introducing the country, its landmarks and its people.
In the city of Samsun, located in northern Turkey, the Arab press delegation met with the governor of Samsun Governorate, who spoke about the relations between his country and the Arab countries, especially Egypt, and the future of bilateral cooperation between them.
Governor Orhan Tauli said that northern Turkey, which includes Samsun Governorate, has become the first destination after Istanbul for Arab tourists, especially from the Gulf countries, as the number of tourists from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to Samsun has increased significantly over the past two years, stressing that his government aspires to increase Issues coming from Egypt as well.
He continued that Samsun is a city of different cultures, and its people love tourists and welcome their presence more than any Turkish city, noting that there are a million tourists who visit Samsun alone annually, including 600,000 tourists who visit it from outside the country, in addition to domestic tourism, as Samsun is famous in Turkey as the northern coast. Full of nature and life.
Regarding bilateral relations and cooperation between his governorate and the Egyptian governorates, the governor of Samsun confirmed to Al-Shorouk that tourists from Egypt and its governorates to the Turkish north are still few in number, stressing that he seeks to introduce the Egyptians to Samsun and the Turkish north and reach them.
He pointed out that Samsun, which is Turkey’s main port on the Black Sea, and is distinguished by its strategic location in the middle of the sea near the cities of Ankara and Trabzon, has a long history, the most notable of which is that it is the city from which Mustafa Kemal Ataturk launched the Turkish War of Independence in 1919 AD.
When asked whether there are direct flights from Cairo or the Egyptian governorates to Samsun, he confirmed that Samsun has direct flights with 6 countries, led by Iraq, from which the largest percentage of tourists come to Samsun, stressing that he hopes to have direct flights with Cairo. And Sharm El Sheikh.
He stressed that he also seeks cooperation with Egypt and the Egyptian governorates in the medical field, noting that his city is famous for cosmetic medicine and other medical fields, in addition to tourism, which can be developed and experiences exchanged with Egypt.
When asked about how the geopolitical tensions witnessed by the Turkish coast in recent years, as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war on the other side of the sea, and the silent confrontation between NATO and the Russians, he said that Turkey was not greatly negatively affected by the Russian-Ukrainian war, as there are cruise ships that arrive on a weekly basis, carrying each time One thousand Russian tourists, and they also receive tourists from Ukraine and other European countries as well.
Samsun.. History of the northern city
The city of Samsun, the capital of the governorate with the same name, was initially named Amisos, and in the Ottoman era this name was changed to become Samsun.
Founded in the 7th century BC, the city was one of the most prosperous Milesian colonies on the Black Sea. It then fell under the rule of the Kings of Pontus, and continued to flourish until the Romans captured it in 71 BC.
The name of the city was changed from Amisos to Samsun by the Seljuk Turks after its capture in the second half of the twelfth century, according to what the Turkish Encyclopedia reported.
Under the rule of the Seljuks, the city represented a commercial center between the continent of Europe and the Central Asian region, then it fell under the rule of the Ottomans when it was seized by the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I at the end of the fourteenth century AD.
