It has no precedent the mass attendance of Turkish tourists who want to visit the Kemal Atatürk House-Museum at the Turkish Consulate in Thessaloniki these days. At the same time, ahead of the second round of presidential elections to be held in the neighboring country on Sunday, May 28, the polls have opened at the Consulate for Turkish citizens living abroad.

Earlier, a crowd was observed outside the Turkish Consulate in Thessaloniki, where dozens of travelers from the neighboring country have arrived. Yesterday’s holiday for “Kemal Ataturk Memorial Day” and “Sports and Youth Day” combined with the weekend was a good opportunity for Turks who wanted to combine the three days with an excursion, choosing Thessaloniki .

According to information from GRTimes, yesterday there was chaos outside the consulate, as at least 50 buses arrived with tourists queuing to visit Kemal’s house. Some of them did not succeed and are expected to attempt it today.

On Saturday morning, a little tension was recorded, as the Turkish excursionists tried to enter the Museum, while the queue reached as far as Agios Dimitriou Street where – even today – several tourist buses were parked.

Meanwhile, the polls opened this morning at the Turkish Consulate in Thessaloniki, which is one of the places around the world where Turkish citizens abroad can vote, regardless of the country in which they live and work. For example, the specific Consulate can vote not only for Turkish citizens who live in Greece but also those who live in other countries such as Germany or France and are currently in Thessaloniki. The same possibility is provided in the other places where polling stations have been set up, as long as the Turkish citizens are residents abroad.

The polls will remain open until Wednesday 24 May from 8am to 10pm.

“Voting for the Second Round Presidential Elections began this morning at our Consulate General.

Our citizens can use their votes until May 24, including the weekend between 08.00-22.00 hours.

Our citizens are requested to bring their high-quality documents with a TC ID number registered to them,” the Turkish Consulate wrote in its Facebook post.

According to information from GRTimes, in the first round of the Turkish presidential elections, more than 200 people came to the ballot box of the Turkish Consulate in Thessaloniki.