GastroANTEP, A FESTIVAL OF ABUNDANCE, FRATERNITY, LOVE, AND AFFECTION

ŞAHİN: GAZİANTEP, THE REGION’S LEVERAGE AND DESTINATION. Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Fatma Şahin emphasised that the Gazi city is the leverage and destination of the region and conveyed the importance of regional development together with all cities in the region.  Opening speeches made at the GastroANTEP Culture Road Festival, organised in cooperation with Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, draw attention to the importance of the festival for the city and the region, while underlining the point that gastronomy has reached in the world.In order to introduce the Gazi city’s local flavours stemming from the sun, soil and history to the whole world, the festival, which was held between 14 and 22 September, started with the cortege march, and then the cortege proceeded to the Festivals Park, where the heart of GastroANTEP beats. After children's shows and performances, opening speeches were made.

This year, the theme of ‘Economy is discussed at GastroANTEP Festival’ will be on the forefront with panels and talks to be held on the first two days of the festival, and important chefs of Türkiye and the world will create vegan, vegetarian and healing products with Gaziantep's food. During the festival, around five hundred culture and art events will be held at nearly fifty venues and nearly a thousand artists will meet art lovers. In the festival, which spreads throughout the city, 21 different spots were determined as the flavour stops, taking into account certain criteria. 

ŞAHİN: GastroANTEP, A FESTIVAL OF ABUNDANCE, FRATERNITY, LOVE, AND AFFECTION

In her opening speech, Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Fatma Şahin thanked those who participated in the festival and stated: 
“There is a festival in our city. There is abundance, fraternity, love and affection in the festival. The festival has the spirit of unity and the beauty you see today. There is a festival in our city. There is a very important beginning that our Minister of Culture and Tourism has combined with the Culture Road. For this reason, everyone who says ‘I also have something to say, I have a word to say’ on behalf of the festival, on behalf of culture, on behalf of art is here.  Under the roof of this hall, as the Mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality, I would like to thank you for being a partner in this excitement, for coming and standing behind us like a mountain every time, for reviving the abundance in the eyes of the tradesmen, for increasing the hope of our farmers. You are here to start a festival where the products from women's cooperatives bring healing to the whole world.” 

HERE WE HAVE THE SPIRIT OF GAZIANTEP, WHICH RESISTS HUNGER WITH APRICOT STONE AND HAS THE STANCE OF BEING THE FLAVOUR CAPITAL OF THE WORLD

Mayor Fatma Şahin reminded that the same day was Mawlid Al-Nabi and that the city is the heir of a civilisation and state mind of thousands of years.  She continued:  
‘On the one hand, while our mawlids are recited in our mosques, on the other hand, the values that make us who we are in the city, the values that carry us to the future are here. Here is our Bakırcılar Bazaar, which is fed by Ahi Evran culture, and with sahabe (companions of the Prophet Muhammed) culture around our castle, we need a stance that says ‘ I had the chance to trade today, but my neighbour did not’. The world needs healing. Culture and art heals. The world needs the understanding of ‘Let the people live so that the state lives’. 22 years ago, when we founded our party, under the leadership of our President, we said ‘Human beings first, let people live so that the state lives’. In order to teach this to our children, the heritage left to us by our ancestors a hundred years ago is exhibited in the panorama museum, there is the stance of Gaziantep, which Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk showed as an example to all other cities, there is the spirit of Gaziantep, which has the stance of being the flavour capital of the world by resisting hunger with apricot stones.” 

IN THIS NEW PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE GAZIANTEP AN INTELLIGENT AND RESILIENT CITY

In the final part of her speech, Mayor Şahin emphasised the importance of Gaziantep for the region and concluded: 
“We are the leverage and destination of the region. When we look here, there is a chorus of civilisations. Everyone finds themselves in this city. There are so many things to be done in Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Mardin, from faith tourism to nature tourism. In the new period, we will make Gaziantep an intelligent and resilient city. We will make this city the capital of the region with all kinds of tourism ranging from nature tourism to faith tourism, from congress tourism to health tourism. We are competing with Italians. We have more, not less. We are competing with Spain's San Sebastian, Italy's Rome and Naples. We will combine our strength in the region. We will be united, we will be strong, and together we will turn the spirit of Gaziantep into the spirit of the world. There is a festival in our city, we welcome everyone to Gaziantep. I greet you all.”