Turkish-Greek Friendship Culture Festival to be held in Gulzelyurt town of Aksaray will bring together the grandchildren of displaced Turks and Greeks of the 1923 population exchange between Turkey and Greece.

Guzelyurt's Mayor Kudret Ozes, who is working to turn the festival to a traditional festival held annually, said Friday the Turkish population of Thessaloniki moved to Guzelyurt while the Greek population of Guzelyurt moved to Thessaloniki during the 1923 population exchange.

Ozes said the Greeks who moved to Thessaloniki has taken the culture of Guzelyurt to their new settlement, continued to speak Turkish and passed down the longing for their former home to their descendants.

He said Guzelyurt's Turkish population lived peacefully with their neighbours and had to move unwillingly during the population exchange.

The Guzelyurt mayor expects 60 Greeks to visit Guzelyurt during the festival on August 7-8 which symbolises the Turkish Greek brotherhood.

Ozes said the Greek guests seize the opportunity to find the traces of their parents and grand parents, and visit their homes and share the memories of the population exchange with the current inhabitants of Guzelyurt. He said the guests sometimes even find the chance to stay a few days in the former homes of their grand parents, during the festival which is being held for the 4th time since it was first organised in 2002.

The 1923 population exchange between Turkey and Greece involved the Greek Orthodox citizens of Turkey and the Muslim citizens of Greece.

The "Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations" was signed in Lausanne, Switzerland on the January 30, 1923 by the governments of Turkey and Greece. It involved approximately the exchange of a total of 2 million people.


AA