01.11.2025 17:58
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the opening of the Atatürk Airport National Garden. In his statements, Erdoğan said, "Despite all sabotage attempts, we are preparing our Istanbul for the Century of Turkey in a much stronger way. We do not care about who our cities voted for. We are not leaving our Istanbul at the mercy of the incompetent and incapable."
"The Atatürk Airport National Garden, organized as 'Turkey's largest city park and disaster gathering area,' has been opened. In his speech at the opening, President Erdoğan made statements regarding current issues.
Key points from President Erdoğan's statements are as follows:
"I send my greetings and love to each of the sixteen million citizens of Istanbul through you. I sincerely thank you, my valuable brothers and especially my young brothers, who strengthen us with your peace and energy. I say to our guests who honored our program and shared in our pride and joy, 'Welcome, you have brought joy.' "
"DESPITE SABOTAGES, WE ARE PREPARING ISTANBUL FOR THE CENTURY OF TURKEY"
We continue to show our love with brand new works, services, and historical investments. We add a new project every day. Despite all sabotage attempts, we are preparing our Istanbul for the Century of Turkey in a much stronger way. Soon, we will inaugurate our completed Atatürk Airport National Garden, this massive work, together with you. We will have contributed another great work to our nation. I sincerely congratulate everyone who contributed to this magnificent work, from our Ministry of Environment, our TOKİ, our contractor company, to every worker, architect, engineer, and manager. I hope that this work, to which we have signed our name in our city, will be beneficial and auspicious for our Istanbul and our country. May God grant us the opportunity to bring many more works and services together with our Istanbul and all 81 provinces.
"THE ESSENCE IS HUMAN"
I would like to share a very important point with you. Just like people, cities also have a soul. With their nature, architectural texture, cultural richness, and historical identity, cities are living entities. In cities, you read humanity, see the past, and understand the present.
Our late master Nurettin Topçu expressed this truth as follows: "A place is a meaning, a city is a human being. In it, a human face is seen, a soul is hidden, a heart beats."
You can clearly see, hear, and feel this soul, this heart, this face; from Baghdad to Cairo, from Skopje to Bursa, from Samarkand and Bukhara to Beirut, in every corner of our civilization garden.
The past and the future are concepts that are almost integrated with each other. We believe this: A city that is merely made of concrete is a soulless and identity-less city. A city composed only of asphalt and iron is a mechanical city. Because what makes a city a city is not buildings, roads, or bridges. Of course, these are important, and they are indispensable. But the essence is human, the human. A person adds value to the place they live in. If they give back at least as much as they take from their city, it means they are enriching it. If a person only consumes and pollutes the city they live in, it means they are betraying their city.
As our late Turgut Cansever said: "If you neglect to revive the generation while rebuilding the city, the generation you neglect will destroy the city you have built."
"WE DO NOT CARE WHO OUR CITIES VOTE FOR"
That is why our ancestors, for centuries, have built cities on one hand while constructing generations on the other. We are working tirelessly to rebuild those beautiful cities from which we draw inspiration. We are enriching both Istanbul and our other provinces, addressing their deficiencies, and finding solutions to their problems with our investments. We are not politically discriminatory in this regard. We do not care who our cities vote for. We strive to provide first-class services to each of the eighty-six million citizens in every field. Especially for our Istanbul; we do not leave it to the mercy of the incompetent who are ignorant of history and civilization consciousness. Istanbul is our apple of the eye. Young people, let everyone know that we will never allow this precious city to experience another period of stagnation.
With this understanding, we have mobilized all our resources for Istanbul. While the main opposition shouts empty slogans in the squares, we are running for Istanbul, for you, for all eighty-six million. We are revealing the beauty of Istanbul with safe and comfortable new buildings, our national gardens, libraries, youth centers, and sports facilities.
You are also following; we announce the good news of a new investment, project, and work almost every week. Last week, we introduced the century's housing project that excited our people greatly. We will build a total of 500 thousand houses across our country. Of these, 100 thousand will be built in our Istanbul. We will provide a total of 500 thousand earthquake-resistant, modern, and comfortable houses to each of our 81 provinces.
"WE ARE ALL AWARE OF THE HIGH RENT PRICES IN ISTANBUL"
We are all aware of the high rent prices in Istanbul. We are launching a project that will contribute to the solution of this problem. Through TOKİ, we will rent 15 thousand houses under favorable conditions in Istanbul. We will quickly get to work to meet the needs of our low-income citizens and complete the social housing as soon as possible. I would also like to express; as you know, last week we were shaken by a 6.1 magnitude earthquake in the Sındırgı district of Balıkesir. Thank God we did not have any loss of life, but this earthquake reminded us once again of the urgency of being prepared for disasters. We saw once again that the issue of urban transformation cannot be neglected.
The state, municipality, and citizens must work together to resolve this issue quickly. Otherwise, we cannot prevent new fires from igniting in our hearts due to mere negligence. My dear brothers, beloved Istanbulites, I always say; serving the nation and the country is primarily a matter of concern, a concern. We are concerned with increasing the welfare of our nation, making them smile, and providing our people with better services than those received by citizens of the most developed countries in the world.
"THE CONSTRUCTION OF 22 NATIONAL GARDENS IS CONTINUING"
Our national gardens are one of the most beautiful examples of our policy of works.
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So far, we have provided our 313 national gardens, which have a total green area of 36 million 560 thousand square meters, for the service of our citizens in 81 provinces. The construction of 231 national gardens, covering an area of 45 million 247 thousand square meters, is also ongoing. We have completed 34 national gardens in Istanbul alone, and the construction of 22 national gardens is still in progress. Today, we are inaugurating the Atatürk National Garden, which spans an area of 1 million 215 thousand square meters, together with you.
"AT LEAST 40 THOUSAND TENTS CAN BE SET UP IN CASE OF DISASTER"
We are providing Istanbul with a spacious and modern national garden, featuring walking and cycling paths, sports fields, exhibition areas, and a national library, along with its park, pool, and social facilities. As you know, the importance of gathering areas became much clearer during the earthquakes on February 6. This place will also serve as a gathering center that can accommodate hundreds of thousands of our citizens during emergencies. In our national garden, which also houses a disaster management center, at least 40 thousand tents can be set up in case of any disaster. Everything needed during a disaster, from a fully equipped hospital to the logistics of medical supplies, from care and needs rooms to soup kitchens, will indeed be available here in our national garden.
Our Atatürk Airport National Garden also hosts a very important health facility. Our emergency hospital, which we completed and put into operation in just 45 days during the coronavirus pandemic, is serving here. This hospital played a crucial role in the fight against COVID. A large part of the Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty, which was later taken for restoration, was also moved to Yeşilköy, to this hospital. The education, research, and health services of the Cerrahpaşa Hospital, which is under construction, continue to be provided right next to us.
Along with the members of the Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty, our patients' relatives will also have the opportunity to benefit from our Atatürk Airport National Garden. I wish it to be auspicious and beneficial. My very valuable brothers and sisters, our services to our country are not limited to roads, buildings, and environmental projects like today. As the government and the alliance, we are making the biggest investment in the brotherhood of our nation, in the security of Turkey. As the People's Alliance, we have made significant progress in a short time in the process of a terrorism-free Turkey that we started a year ago. We did not get provoked in the face of provocations.
We have taken into account the sensitivities of all segments of society, especially the relatives of martyrs and veterans. We have been careful not to destroy one side while building the other. We have successfully brought the process to this point without any road accidents. The defunct terrorist organization recently announced that it is withdrawing its armed elements from our country and distancing them from the border line. Our relevant units are meticulously monitoring the developments in the field moment by moment. We value every positive step taken on the road to the target. The commission established in our Grand National Assembly of Turkey is continuing its work intensively.
"WE HAD A PROMISING MEETING WITH THE DEM PARTY"
Lastly, on Thursday, our Ministers of Justice and Foreign Affairs informed the commission. We also received the DEM Party delegation at our presidential complex. We had a very constructive, productive, and promising meeting for the future with them. Inshallah, we will see the reflections of this meeting in the coming days. As the People's Alliance, we believe that quick action is necessary in matters that are beneficial to our country and nation. We will continue our work with a sensitive, constructive, and inclusive approach.
We will definitely start a new era where the costs paid by our nation do not go in vain, where peace, security, tranquility, and brotherhood prevail not only within our borders but also beyond them. We are determined to see this through to the end. First, we will reach a terrorism-free Turkey, and then a terrorism-free region, inshallah. While taking all these strategic steps, we are of course aware of this reality: As we get closer to the target, both our burden increases and the efforts to sabotage the process intensify.
"THE BIGGEST GOAL IS TO DISRUPT THE UNITY OF THE PEOPLE'S ALLIANCE"
Those who do not want Turkey to solve its half-century-old problem, especially the treacherous FETÖ members, have accelerated their operations. They are doing everything they can to disturb our nation, unsettle the relatives of our martyrs, and manipulate the public. Their biggest goal is to disrupt the unity, togetherness, and integrity of the People's Alliance, which was forged with the blessed blood of our martyrs on the night of July 15. However, they will not succeed!
We will be one, we will be together, we will be large, we will be alive, we will all be Turkey.
GREEN AREA SIZE 1 MILLION 215 THOUSAND SQUARE METERS
The Atatürk Airport National Garden, organized as "Turkey's largest city park and disaster gathering area," will have a disaster gathering area that can accommodate more than 165 thousand people at the same time, with a green area size reaching 1 million 215 thousand square meters.
The national garden features exhibition halls, workshops, 4 soup kitchens, 4 restaurants, 4 bazaars, and 4 libraries where citizens can spend time with their families.
In the Atatürk Airport National Garden, which includes 2 complex buildings built on an area of 72 thousand 128 square meters, there are 20 thousand 399 trees, 1 million 182 thousand 816 square meters of grass area, and an event meadow for 28 thousand people.
In the recreation areas, there are 7 hills representing Sarayburnu, Süleymaniye, Fatih, Yavuz Selim, Edirnekapı, Kocamustafapaşa, and Çemberlitaş.
Additionally, there is a "Ab-ı Hayat" stream approximately 2.5 kilometers long along the north-south axis of the garden.
As part of the project, 18 greenhouses, 9 market places, and a parking lot for 4 thousand vehicles are being built, while the sports area includes 12 tennis courts, 11 basketball courts, 6 volleyball courts, 6 football fields, 2 skate parks, 10 thousand 679 square meters of bicycle paths, 85 thousand 371 square meters of walking paths, 18 thousand 750 square meters of trail paths, and 8 separate children's play areas.
The disaster gathering area, which can accommodate more than 165 thousand people at the same time, is accessible from 9 different points. This area includes a hangar building, cooking area, water reservoir, wind and solar energy plants, and 19 toilets.
313 NATIONAL GARDENS HAVE BEEN BUILT SO FAR
According to a statement made by the Ministry of Urbanization and Climate Change, it was reported that 313 national gardens have been built across Turkey, covering a total green area of 36 million 560 thousand square meters.
The statement noted that the construction of 231 national gardens is ongoing in an area of 45 million 247 thousand square meters, and it was reported that in Istanbul alone, 34 national gardens have been completed in an area of 5 million 577 thousand square meters, while the construction of 22 national gardens is continuing in an area of 13 million 425 thousand square meters.
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The opening ceremony of the Atatürk Airport National Garden is expected to be attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Minister of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change, Murat Kurum.
It has been noted that various events lasting for 2 days will be organized in the national garden for citizens after the ceremony, including treats for children, zero waste practices, and various workshop activities.
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