Mayor of Konya Metropolitan Municipality Uğur İbrahim Altay met with members of the press at Çatalhöyük Promotion and Welcome Center, which is being built by the Metropolitan Municipality. Stating that they are working to make Çatalhöyük one of the important brands not only in Turkey but also in the world, Mayor Altay said, “We are in the construction of an exemplary welcome center for Turkey. An expropriation of approximately 28 thousand square meters was carried out here. We are bringing the biggest wooden building in Turkey, which has a closed area of 4 thousand square meters and was built by the public, to our Konya. We are building an exhibition area where you can get basic information about Çatalhöyük, where we can organize temporary exhibitions and programs related to the tourism potential of Çatalhöyük and beyond, Turkey and Konya.” said. President Altay said, “I hope we all want to make Konya one of the most beautiful cities not only in Turkey but also in the world. I believe we can achieve this.” he said.
Mayor of Konya Metropolitan Municipality Uğur İbrahim Altay held a press conference at Çatalhöyük Promotion and Welcoming Center, which will be brought to the city by the Metropolitan Municipality.
President Altay, who made examinations at Çatalhöyük Promotion and Welcome Center, whose construction continues with members of the press, gave information about the history of Çatalhöyük dating back thousands of years.
“CATALHÖYÜK IS A VERY IMPORTANT CENTER FOR TOURISTS”
Pointing out that Konya has progressed rapidly towards becoming a tourism city with the recent studies, Mayor Altay said, “Konya is a capital city. We have been celebrating the events of Konya being the capital city for the last 3-4 years. Again, We are also working to celebrate Mevlana's arrival in Konya, his birth and Şeb-i Arus events around the world. Many people who came to Konya, Hz. He comes to visit Mevlana, but Çatalhöyük is a very important center for a group of tourists. There is a tourism potential in the world, especially related to archaeological excavations. In this sense, we strive to make Çatalhöyük one of the important brands not only in Turkey but also in the world.” he said.
“MAIN TARGET IS TO BUILD A BUILDING THAT DOES NOT COMPETE WITH ÇATALHÖYÜK”
Noting that there is no area in Çatalhöyük where visitors can be both informed and welcomed, Mayor Altay noted that they set out to build a welcoming center and continued: “An expropriation of approximately 28 thousand square meters has been carried out here. There is a great effort behind the determination of the location and for the project to reach this point. At the point reached today, we have made the construction of an exemplary welcome center for Turkey can be shown to our members of the press. We are located in the largest wooden building in Turkey, which has a closed area of 4 thousand square meters and was built by the public. All of the production here is wood. In fact, the main goal is to build a building that does not compete with Çatalhöyük. Çatalhöyük is a city in its own right, but it is a city of its own. That's why we set out to build a building with environmentally friendly, natural materials. The main purpose of this place is to give the visitors basic information about Çatalhöyük. In fact, we started the construction as an exhibition center, but in the meeting we held with the ministry in the past weeks, the process of finding some original works has started. Therefore, we are moving towards a concept like a museum exhibition space. Here we are building an exhibition area where you can get basic information about Çatalhöyük, where we can organize temporary exhibitions and programs related to the tourism potential of Çatalhöyük and beyond, Turkey and Konya. A cafe worthy of Konya's hospitality for our guests and an area where other needs can be met; we are also creating an area where you can see the hills of Çatalhöyük and contemplate the unique geography of Konya when you go up to the tower with its 24 meter high wooden tower. In addition, one of our main goals regarding this tower is to help visitors understand why people prefer Çatalhöyük. Hopefully, we are making an effort to train it for the next tourism season.”
“OUR MAIN OBJECTIVE IS TO INCREASE THE SHARE OF TOURISM IN KONYA”
Stating that they also conducted a test on balloon flight in Çatalhöyük region, President Altay said, “Although it has not reached the desired efficiency at the moment, at least a study is carried out on ballooning at certain hours in the morning in order to follow the process here. We also carry out this work in order to give our visitors a different experience. Our main goal is to increase Konya's share of tourism and increase the income level in Konya. Because tourism creates an important economic cycle. This creates an ecosystem not only for restaurants and tourism businesses, but for the whole city. Here is the activity in the city you saw in the Islamic Solidarity Games. With the summer season, St. Many people visiting Mevlana's tomb have contributed to our city, and we are witnessing how high the perceptions of those who come to Konya have about this place. In fact, Konya creates a very serious awareness in terms of brand value along with the share it receives from tourism. Because Konya is Turkey's most planned, cleanest, calmest and most peaceful metropolis. In this sense, our visitors are falling in love with Konya's cleanliness, Konya's order, Konya's order, Konya's tourism potential, so to speak, and they all turn into tourism ambassadors. I think this is also very important in terms of Konya's brand value. Therefore, the more people we can bring here, the more beneficial it will be for our Konya. I believe that Çatalhöyük will be one of our important centers in this sense.” used the phrases.
“WE WANT TO MAKE KONYA ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CITIES NOT ONLY IN TURKEY, BUT IN THE WORLD”
Noting that they all want to make Konya one of the most beautiful cities not only in Turkey but also in the world, Mayor Altay said, “I also believe that we can achieve this. As Konya, we have achieved a very good momentum. Today we are in Çatalhöyük, but we also have important works, especially in the centre. When we complete the infrastructure, Konya will turn into a destination where visitors can stay for a few days, not just a one-day visit area. Konya should not be thought of as just a center. Konya has many values. We are doing new studies in Derebucak. We are doing an important work in Beyşehir Icheri City. We are working on Akşehir, Ereğli, Halkapınar, Karapınar Meke Lakes. In other words, our goal is to reveal every region with tourism potential in Konya and to make it the center of tourism again. For this, we strive day and night.” said.
President Altay also reminded that they received MEVKA support for the work in Çatalhöyük and thanked Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy and Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank for their support.
“OUR METROPOLITAN MAYOR IS WRITING HISTORY HERE”
Çumra Mayor Recep Candan said, “Our Metropolitan Mayor is writing a history here. What history does he write? He is writing a history about the presentation of the values revealed by the excavations to the society. This building is not really just a building; With its design, artistic value and content, it will fill a huge gap that Çatalhöyük needs and will also fulfill the function of a museum. I would like to thank the Mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality both for this service and for the infrastructure investments he has provided to our district.” made the statement.
“OUR KONYA WILL BECOME A WORLD BRAND WITH ÇATALHÖYÜK”
Çatalhöyük Excavation Director Ali Umut Türkcan said, “Here, the world's first urban experiment is in question. We should not ignore that there is a long process in Konya, which is a capital city. What does this show us? Anatolia's memory actually lies mainly in Konya. This is a very important cultural basin and Çatalhöyük is the most important part of it. We would like to thank the Mayor of Konya Metropolitan Municipality. There is a very big story here. It is very important that this is expressed correctly to the world. Our visitor center is a very successful project. Our Konya will become a world brand together with Çatalhöyük.” he said.
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