Celik: Ataturk's yacht to be turned into museum

The Culture and Tourism Ministry has applied to buy the yacht "Savarona" that was assigned to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic, in 1938 and turn it into a museum and venue to host foreign officials. Speaking to reporters ahead of a banquet which was organized in the honor of his Ukrainian counterpart Leonid Novohatko in Ankara yesterday, Culture and Tourism Minister Omer Celik confirmed the news that Savarona would be taken back from its owner Kahraman Sadikoglu who has rented it for 49 years in 1989. "We are interested in the issue with the order of our prime minister. The yacht will be converted into a museum and also a place to host foreign officials on their visits to Turkey. We are working on the issue and the process is underway," Celik said.