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Date: 28/02/2010
Istanbul is the most beautiful city in the world’
All eyes are on Istanbul this year; everybody is looking forward to the things that have started and are still to come in its year as a capital of culture, which means great responsibility and high international visibility.
However, a city like Istanbul doesn’t necessarily have to be a capital of culture to have its admirers. Having enthusiasts from all over the world, Istanbul has always been a center for praise and admiration, and being a European Capital of Culture (ECOC) has just made it more visible.
Niki Tzavela is an admirer of this old city. A Greek member of the European Parliament, Tzavela says she frequently visits Istanbul. “When I was working in Greece, I used to come once a month,” she said, in an interview with Sunday’s Zaman. “This is the closest place for me to Athens. I have a lot of friends, a lot of people I’m fond of. I know the places I will go and meet them.”
An innovative campaign
For Tzavela, the Istanbul 2010 ECOC campaign was implemented very successfully. “I saw the presentation here,” notes Tzavela. “The ideas are extremely clever, they are very unique, very innovative. And this makes it different from the other capitals because usually they copy each other. And the team that created 2010 was very creative. I was in America, Strasbourg, Brussels, but as for Istanbul, this inspiring city had a very good campaign.” Tzavela believes that success will finally be Istanbul’s. “And I think they are going to make it this year,” she said. “Istanbul 2010 will make Turkey and Istanbul more visible to the world,” she said, emphasizing the importance of such events. “And this is always the best way to promote your country, through culture.”
Tzavela appreciates the activities and events achieved thus far within the framework of the 2010 ECOC. “I think they’re professional,” says Tzavela, “extremely professional. I liked the paintings, the dancing. ... You have excellent names, big names in dancing and the performing arts. It was an excellent idea to show the multicultural face of Istanbul; the architecture, the Armenians, the Greek, Jews, Ottomans which reflect the European side of the city.”
In this respect, Tzavela doesn’t agree with the criticism that Istanbul shouldn’t have been chosen as the European Capital of Culture since Turkey is still not a member of the EU. “Istanbul is more European, while a lot of European cities are not European; Istanbul was European when most cities were not,” she replied.
However, for Tzavela there’s one thing missing from the program of activities. “I think you should put gastronomy in your program,” she said. “Your cuisine is really exclusive, very interesting and fascinating. You should have programs that include Ottoman gastronomy. The French promote their cuisine, and you should promote yours. Everybody knows about Turkish cuisine, but you should promote it more.”
Istanbul: the queen of cities
Although Turkey and Greece have had long-standing problems in the past, disasters have brought the two societies closer to a better understanding of each other, according to Tzavela. “For the last six to seven years or more, after the big earthquake in Turkey and the big earthquake we had in Greece, the societies have been closer,” indicates Tzavela. “It was during the tenure of Foreign Minister Ismail Cem. Since then, the two countries have become very close. Right now, you can see big groups of Greeks coming to Istanbul. We love the city. We love the country, we love the culture and we are very close now -- even the people are different,” said Tzavela. “Forget politics!” she added.
Tzavela is known for calling Istanbul the “queen of cities” in a previous speech. “We call Istanbul the queen of cities, perhaps it is because it was the capital of the Byzantine Empire, but Istanbul deserves this name,” she says. “It is unique, it is very alive: the Bosporus, the noise, the smell, everything, the colors. Most huge cities are monstrous, but Istanbul is not.” Tzavela summarizes Istanbul’s appeal in a sentence: “This is the most beautiful city in the world, believe me.”
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