Turkish embassy appoints new head of culture

Esin Zeynep Selvi

ROME – At the Turkish Embassy Esin Zeynep Selvi has been appointed as the new head of the Office of Culture.

“I am very happy to be in Rome and to be working at our seat in Italy,” says Selvi, “Italians have a special appreciation of what Turkey has to offer to tourists, in particular our art, culture, archaeology, history, coast and cuisine,”

“We are involved in many events this autumn, first of all the TTG [International Tourism Fair] in Rimini (Oct. 9-11.) followed by the Mediterranean Exchange of Archaeological Tourism in Paestum, Salerno (Oct. 30. – Nov. 2.)  and the International Golf Travel Market at Lake Como (Oct. 27-30).”

In addition, Selvi explains, there are many cultural events showcasing Turkish artists in Italy, with art exhibitions and film festivals featuring Turkish work. For example there are two Turkish films showing at this year’s Venice film festival, and the fourth annual Turkish Film Festival of Rome is due to take place between Oct. 22 and 26.

The latest figures on foreign visitors to Turkey, recently published by the Turkish Minister for Tourism and Culture, show a steady increase. Between January and June 2014 over 20.4 million tourists visited Turkey, of which 353,000 were Italian, constituting a 6.84% increase compared to the same period in 2013. Whilst the number of Italian visitors to Turkey is on the rise, the majority of visitors still come from Russia, Germany, the Netherlands, France and the U.K.