Even though Turkey’s prospects of joining the European Union anytime soon are rather dim, Istanbul, the country’s largest city, is preparing to receive millions of additional tourists from Europe to celebrate its multicultural heritage and artistic development in the coming year.

Named a European Capital of Culture for 2010, the city is gathering artists, restoring landmarks and encouraging travelers to visit, Ozgul Ozkan Yavuz, the director of tourism and promotion for the project, told GlobalAtlanta during a video interview at her headquarters, a former living quarters of the Ottoman sultans.

While the United States is fifth among nations in numbers of annual tourists to Turkey, Ms. Yavuz encouraged visitors from Atlanta and Georgia to participate in what already has become a cultural renaissance for a city that has a multicultural heritage encompassing Christian, Muslim and Jewish religious traditions as well as those of the Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires.

Straddling Asia and Europe, Turkey already is an established tourist destination. Ms Ayuz said that Istanbul received 7.5 million tourists last year, and she expects the number of visitors to jump to 10 million next year.

Her optimism, she said, is based on the “increasing interests from both domestic and international tour writers who are asking more and more about our events calendar.” She also has been heading up an energetic outreach program attending book fairs and cultural programs.

The coming year, which will feature not only a groundswell of local talent but internationally acclaimed artists, would be a special time to visit for Georgians, she said, reminiscent of the excitement that Atlanta experienced during the 1996 Olympic Summer Games. The organizers already have been promoting the event in local schools and neighborhoods throughout the city of 12 million residents.

“We are aiming to reposition Istanbul as not only a historical destination, but also as a cultural and artistic destination,” she said.

GlobalAtlanta visited Turkey as a member of a Georgia group composed of educators and public officials, May 30-June 7, at the invitation of the Istanbul Center in Atlanta.

The center was established to promote a better understanding of Turkey in the metro area and the Southeastern U.S. It focuses on education, culture, dialogue and humanitarian works, and is a volunteer-driven, locally supported civic organization.

“There are three basic pillars of our strategy,” Ms. Yavuz said of the 2010 initiative, which is now supported with both public and private funds.

“The first is the cultural heritage and rehabilitation projects, urban projects for the city. The second part is cultural and artistic events. The third part is tourism and promotion of the city, especially for cultural and artistic events.”

Although France and Germany have shunned Turkey in its quest to become a member of the European Union, Istanbul was the first non-E.U. named as a European Capital of Culture.

The concept dates back to the 1980s and a proposal by the then-Greek Minister of Culture Melina Mercouri, a world renowned actress and singer, which was accepted by the E.U. Council of Ministers.

The original concept limited the entries to cities that had contributed to Europe and European culture, but in 2000 the title began to be given to more than one city and to cities that were candidates for E.U. membership.

Ms. Yavuz said that a group of civil society and non-governmental activists, who were following the initiative, were the first to promote Istanbul’s cause. The city was chosen, she added, in part because they also were the first applicants not representing a particular government entity to seek the title.

Istanbul hopes the title of European Capital of Culture, she added, will bolster its standing as a cultural tourism destination. Projects to refurbish its cultural infrastructure including opera, ballet and theater houses are to be completed by the end of the year.

“Multiculturalism is in the history of the city,” she said due to its geographic location in both Europe and Asia and as a crossroads between continents.

To learn more about Istanbul 2010, go to www.istanbul2010.org

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