New centers worldwide set to tout Turkish culture, tourism

The Culture and Tourism Ministry is preparing to open Turkish culture centers worldwide, in such countries as Britain , Russia , Germany and France . Testifying in Parliament's budget debates yesterday, Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay said the planned centers, named after renowned 13th-century mystic poet Yunus Emre, a pioneer in the use of written Turkish, will help teach visitors the Turkish language and its various dialects. Pledging to make Turkey a must-see tourist destination, Gunay said, "Anyone who enjoys a certain level of income and cultural sensitivity should feel deprived if they haven't visited Turkey at least once. We're going to make seeing Turkey a badge of prestige for people worldwide." Stating that Turks have been living in Germany since the 1960s but lack a culture center there, Gunay said, "There's the German Goethe Institute, Spanish Cervantes Institute, and similar French and British institutes in Turkey . Now Turkey has the Yunus Emre Institute. We're going to open branches of this institute in the Balkans, Middle East , Germany , Britain , Russia and France ." The centers are an institutional landmark in preserving Turkish language and culture, Gunay added.