İzmir International Fair, which carries important traces from Turkey's commercial and cultural memory, opened its doors for the 91st time, and the international gastronomy fair Terra Madre Anadolu opened its doors for the first time in Turkey. Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor at the opening ceremony Tunç Soyer“Come, let's enlarge İzmir's table of abundance in order to make life permanent and spread hope. Let's stick together more tightly to increase the fertility of these lands and to share them fairly," he said. The fair, which includes visitors and exhibitors from 46 countries, will host visitors until 11 September.
Izmir is experiencing the excitement of a double fair. The 91st Izmir International Fair (IEF) and Terra Madre Anadolu 2022 opened its doors to visitors this evening. Turkey's first fair, IEF, which is among the most rooted fairs in the world, is hosted by Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and organized by İZFAŞ under the auspices of the Ministry of Trade. Terra Madre Anadolu, the international gastronomy fair within the scope of IEF, is being held for the first time in Turkey.
festive cortege
The excitement of IEF and Terra Madre Anatolia first overflowed to the streets of the city with a festive cortege. The enthusiastic cortege, attended by thousands of people, started from Gündoğdu Square. In the cortege where the banners of "Our hope is in the ancestral lands", "Do not let your soul be left behind, slow down", "Eat your grapes and ask about your vineyard", "Hear the cry of nature", "We will all be thirsty if we are silent" and "We decorate Izmir with flowers", the call of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Fire Brigade Rescue dogs Scout, Betty and Asil also took part. Accompanied by the citizens with applause from their balconies, the cortege proceeded along the Pleven Boulevard and reached the Kulturpark Lausanne Gate for the opening ceremony.
Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor on the Kulturpark side of the Lausanne Gate Tunç Soyer and his wife Neptün Soyer, Deputy Minister of Commerce Rıza Tuna Turagay, İzmir Governor Yavuz Selim Köşger, Saadet Party Deputy Chairman Şerafettin Kılıç, Iyi Party Group Deputy Chairman Musavat Dervişoğlu, CHP High Disciplinary Board Chairman and Artvin Deputy Uğur Bayraktutan, 21 Term Minister of Labor and Social Security Yaşar Okuyan, Slow Food International Secretary General Paolo Di Croce, Adana Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Zeydan Karalar and his wife Nuray Karalar, İzmir Provincial Police Chief Mehmet Şahne, Coast Guard Aegean Sea Region Commander Rear Admiral Serkan Tezel, foreign mission representatives , heads of provinces and representatives of political parties, deputies, mayors of provinces and districts, members of municipal councils, non-governmental organizations, professional chambers, representatives of cooperatives and unions, headmen and citizens.
“This meeting of ours is a fermentation story”
President in his inaugural speech Tunç Soyer“We are saying hello to the world from İzmir for the ninety-first time, with roots as strong as a century-old plane tree and with a brand new excitement. This fair, the foundations of which were laid in 1923 with the Izmir Economy Congress inaugurated by our great leader, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, is a living cultural heritage for us. Izmir International Fair is a bridge stretching from Izmir to the world and from the world to Izmir. At one end of this bridge is the ancient civilization of abundance in Anatolia. At the other end, the footprints of change on the earth, new thoughts, ideas and discoveries… This is a great square that brings the world and Turkey together. This is why the International Fair suits 8-year-old İzmir and our 500-year-old Republic so well. It gives direction to the Turkey of the future. Because this meeting is a fermentation story.”
Domestic and national production mobilization will continue to grow
Stating that many colors, many voices and many breaths are strengthened by a common spirit, President Soyer said, “91. As part of our fair events, we will celebrate our liberation day, September 9, with the biggest stage performance in Turkish history, befitting our hundred-year victory. The same evening, our megastar Tarkan will meet with the people of Izmir along Kordon. From this evening until September 11, many artists raised by our country will be in Izmir. And today… In addition to opening our fair, we bring the flavors of Anatolia to the world tables. We are holding the IEF simultaneously with Terra Madre, one of the most important gastronomy organizations in the world. Terra Madre Anadolu is not just a flavor fair for us. It is a collective mind movement where we redefine the relationship of human beings with life and where we will create permanent solutions against the climate crisis, energy crisis, food crisis, poverty and wars. A tangible product of this, we will present our 'İzmirli' brand to the world as a brand new result of our struggle against drought and poverty. We bring together the cheeses produced from the milk we buy from our shepherds who produce on the pastures of İzmir with 'İzmirli', with buyers in Turkey and all over the world. As we always say, we will make our small producers in the most remote villages of İzmir and producer cooperatives of İzmir exporters. This domestic and national production mobilization that we started with dairy products will continue to grow by including products such as olive oil, cereals, legumes and grapes produced by our cooperatives. This work, which started with Terra Madre Anadolu, is the answer to those who can't sleep while their neighbors are hungry, saying 'wolf, bird, love'; The mobilization of those who know how to produce for themselves and nature at the same time is the struggle for survival.
“Our soul is the soul of Mustafa Kemal”
President Soyer stated that İzmir is a city that has created its own EXPO brand for 91 years and said: “This fair hosted thousands of visitors despite the difficult conditions of the Second World War. It has given people hope. We are talking about an EXPO that has never closed its doors for almost a century. The name of this meeting, which is a culture, trade, tourism, entertainment and education square: İzmir International Fair. For this reason, it is my duty as the mayor of this city to carry IEF to future generations and to explain it to the world much better. Our fair, which will be visited by hundreds of thousands of people for ten days, has another very important mission. Grow hope! There is another spirit in every movement of our hands, in every sentence we make and in every work we do. This spirit is the spirit of the amazon women of the Aegean, of Börklüce Mustafa, of Anatolia. This spirit inside us is the spirit of Hasan Tahsin, who was brave enough to say, 'You can find the one who starts and finishes'. Everyone should know well… Our soul is the soul of Mustafa Kemal. This is the geography of peace, harmony, democracy and art, which has been a cradle of civilizations for thousands of years: Anatolia! This is the city of the Republic, Izmir, where the first bullet was fired and the liberation and establishment began. Sometimes we can be pessimistic, sometimes tired and sometimes angry. But tonight, under the sky dome of Izmir, we should only be hopeful. We are. Because İzmir, which was the herald of the liberation of this country a hundred years ago, will continue to follow in the footsteps of its heroic ancestors and keep their memory alive and will continue to be the locomotive of hope for future generations.”
“Life is always!”
President Soyer said that Izmir is the city of people who appreciate the uninterrupted peace they have lived for a hundred years and protect it like their honor, and said, “Izmir is the city of those who will crown the Republic established by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk after his epic victory with democracy in its second century. Because Izmir is brave. Because Izmir is the city of people who know solidarity best and are connected to each other with love, tolerance and compassion. And dear people of Izmir, you are the most beautiful form of this hope and courage in our hearts. Come, let's enlarge İzmir's table of abundance in order to make life permanent and spread hope. Let's hold each other tighter in order to increase the fertility of this land and to share it fairly. I would like to end my words with the following statement, which we say in all Mediterranean languages in the manifesto of Terra Madre Anatolia: Life is always!” he finished his speech.
Turagay: “We used to think of Izmir Fair when we called it Izmir”
Rıza Tuna Turagay, Deputy Minister of Trade, said, “91 years is easy to say. A lifetime. 91 years have passed and İzmir and İEF have achieved many firsts in 91 years she. The first general fair. Even in the Second World War, it did not close its doors. When IEF was opened, we used to follow it from the newspapers, we used to watch it on television when the television was only one channel. When we say Izmir, we think of Izmir Fair, which is the symbol of Izmir. We must carry this legacy into future years. For this, as the Ministry of Commerce, we are doing our best to provide the necessary support. The fair is very important for us, İzmir is very important for us. Terra Madre is one of the leading gastronomic events in the international world. We perceive how important food is. We would like to thank IEF for hosting such an event.”
Köşger: “We believe that the events we miss will come true”
İzmir Governor Yavuz Selim Köşger said, “After the two fairs we left behind with less participation due to the pandemic, I hope that our fair, which we believe will take place with the events we miss and expect this year, will be beneficial to our city, our country and all local and foreign participants.”
“We must fight for our Mother Earth”
Paolo Di Croce, Secretary General of Slow Food International, said: “If we have one thing to thank, it is for the worthy Terra Madre fighters who are taking action to promote healthy food production. We all have to fight together. The world is changing, the system is changing too. We must change this together. We must fight for our Mother Earth, hence our name is Terra Madre.”
After the speeches, the test was broken so that the fair would be fruitful.
Both fairs will host their visitors with concerts, theater and cinema screenings, exhibitions, kitchen shows, sports and entertaining events until September 11.
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