Cittaslow Turkey Coordinator Tunc Soyer and Science Committee Member Prof. Dr. Ridvan Yurtseven visited Ahlat and Adilcevaz districts of Bitlis to evaluate the districts’ compliance for the Cittaslow criterion.
After the visit, Tunc Soyer commented as follows: "Today together with Science Committee Member Prof. Dr. Ridvan Yurtseven, we visited two of the important spots on the Silk Road, Bitlis and Adilcevaz. Both districts are located at the side of the Van Lake, which called "Ahlat Sea” by Ahlat residents and "Van Sea” by Adilcevaz residents. We visited the Seljuq monoliths consisting of thousands of monuments each worth a treasure. Ahlat is like the DNA center of Anatolia. The name is derived from the "hlt” word meaning "mixed, together”. Once it was a capital with 350.000 residents. You can still witness a history of 1000 years. The museum planned to be formally opening soon is a must-see with its high standards, content and architectural design. The bio-diversity in Ahlat is astonishing, it is a like an ecological pharmacy and has great potential for ecotourism.
Both the cities’ mayors and district governors, municipal assembly members, village headmen and NGO representatives are enthusiastic about the Cittaslow membership, so they do their best to meet the requirements. We will provide utmost support to both districts for positive results for their Cittaslow applications. “