With Turkish tourists flooded today it museum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in the Turkish Consulatein the center of Thessaloniki.

Thus, a large number of tourists from the neighboring country hastened to the spot for the 85th anniversary of the death of the founder of the Republic of Turkey, making a pilgrimage visit.

On the occasion of the day of remembrance for the Turkish people, the Voria.gr talked to him new Turkish consul in Thessaloniki, Serkan Gedik. Mr. Gedik succeeded Efe Ceylon about 6 months ago.

As the new Turkish consul said, today is very important for him and his compatriots.
In addition, October 29, the Independence Day of Turkey, which this year marked 100 years, is of particular importance to our neighboring country.

“Kemal Atatürk was born here (in the current Kemal Museum) and passed away in Dolma Bakhce Palace. It is therefore very important for the Turks, every October 29 and November 10, to be either in Thessaloniki or in Dolma Bakhce”, explained Mr. Gedik.

Every year on November 10, a ritual is held for the Turkish visitors who are in the Kemal Atatürk museum.

According to this, at 09:05, the time of the death of the former president of Turkey, a minute’s silence is usually observed.

Afterwards, the consul of Turkey in Thessaloniki makes a speech and, immediately after, students from schools in Turkish territory read poems in memory of the Turkish patriarch, as the visitors to the scene called him.

However, in order to adhere to the specific program, due to the influx of thousands of people, a central coordination is needed.

“Police and agencies help us every year to succeed and we thank them very much for that,” says the Turkish consul.

The good behavior between Greeks and Turks in Thessaloniki, the “bridge of friendship” and the goal of increasing tourists from Turkey to the city

Today’s highly symbolic day for the citizens of Turkey is not the only one in which the Kemal Atatürk museum receives visits.

According to Mr. Gedik, in 2022 the museum was visited by a total of 80,000 people.

What is even more impressive is the fact that this year and until November 10, they have already passed the museum gate more than 230,000 people.

However, as the Turkish consul says, many of these visits to Thessaloniki are short-term.

“There are many things that connect the two peoples and Thessaloniki has several unexploited – on a tourist level – Turkish sites and monuments. We believe that if these are exploited and made accessible, then Turkish tourists will be able to create a larger and more comprehensive program and stay in the city for more days”, says Mr. Gedik, who adds that this will provide a significant economic benefit in the businesses and hotels of the city.

For this reason, the Turkish consul is expected, as he says, to start a barrage of meetings with political, self-governing and tourist agencies, with the aim of cooperation in promoting the Turkish monuments in the city.

After all, according to Mr. Gedik, the Turkish visitors to Thessaloniki tell him that they enjoy good behavior from the inhabitants of the city, to which they always come in a friendly mood.

As the Turkish consul characteristically says, the two peoples are connected in many ways, such as the speaking of the Turkish language, as “there are still people who speak Turkish here”. Something which, according to him, has remained either after they or their ancestors immigrated to the city or after the exchange of populations between the two countries.

In fact, Mr. Gedik mentions that “many times I pass by the benches around the statue of Eleftherios Venizelos and I hear grandparents speaking Turkish. I stop, we talk and that’s how I’ve made many friends in the city.”

In fact, according to the Turkish consul in Thessaloniki, the donation of Kemal’s museum to the Turkish state in 1935 constitutes an important bridge of friendship between the two countries.

As Mr. Gedik says, “we have a shared past that we can use as a bridge of friendship, not only when we help each other after terrible natural disasters.”