31.10.2026 11:51
Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy opened the Antalya Culture Road Festival and announced that more than 440 events will be held at more than 40 venues over 9 days. Evaluating investments in the city as well, Ersoy announced that after COP31, a new structuring will be undertaken to realize one of Turkey's largest fair, congress, and event centers in the EXPO area.
Antalya will host the Türkiye Culture Road Festival for 9 days with a broad program ranging from concerts to exhibitions, and from opera and ballet to traditional arts. At the festival's opening, Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced the program, completed and ongoing investments in the city, and new projects related to Antalya tourism.
THE FESTIVAL WILL REACH 32 PROVINCES NEXT YEAR
The opening of the festival, held for the fourth time this year, was attended by Antalya Governor Hulusi Şahin and AK Party Antalya MPs Kemal Çelik, Mustafa Köse, İbrahim Ethem Taş and Tuba Vural Çokal.
Minister Ersoy, noting that Antalya's culture and art have come together again under the roof of the Türkiye Culture Road Festival, which presents knowledge and entertainment, and the traditional and the universal together, said the organization has become one of the world's most comprehensive, most widely participated and most popular festivals.
Ersoy, explaining that they carried the festival brand to 26 cities this year and that the culture and arts program lasting about 8 months will reach 32 provinces next year, emphasized that the festival will continue to contribute to domestic tourism and local economies while bringing together people of all ages and backgrounds.
440 EVENTS AND 85 FLAVOR STOPS IN ANTALYA
Ersoy used the following statements regarding the scope of the festival in Antalya:
“We will organize more than 440 events at more than 40 venues for Antalya. We have also identified 85 flavor stops. Within Mediterranean cuisine, we will present the distinctive taste of Turkish cuisine—which has made a special place for itself through the strong influence of Yörük culture—for palates to experience. ”
Ersoy, stating that the festival's main stage will be set up at Konyaaltı Beach Park, said that Simge, Poizi, Sefo, Gökhan Türkmen, Ebru Yaşar, Demet Akalın and Hakan Altun will meet music lovers with their concerts.
In the performing arts program, Ersoy noted that Anna Karenina, which tells the story of a life struggle woven with loyalty, passion and jealousy, and the ballet interpretations of Carmina Burana, with its texts on nature and love, will be staged; he stated that in the opera Attila, the birth of a new city in the shadow of a conqueror who shaped history and civilizations will be brought to the stage.
Ersoy also touched on the exhibitions within the festival and stated that in the Ottoman Sacred Relics exhibition, a special door will be opened onto the Ottoman spiritual world through sacred relics, Kaaba covers and copies of the Quran.
ANTALYA'S LIVING HERITAGE WILL COME TO LIFE IN THE HANDS OF MASTERS
Ersoy, stating that in the Living Heritage Antalya exhibition, traditional values and practices of Turkish culture reflected in art will be presented to visitors, announced that works by masters recognized by the Ministry as Bearers of Intangible Cultural Heritage will be exhibited.
Ersoy, stating that traditional arts such as filigree, glass and woodwork, kilim and carpet weaving, pottery, çini art, felt making, marbling, illumination and miniature will be included in the festival, said visitors will be able to experience not only artworks but also the knowledge, skills, perception and understanding passed down for centuries.
Ersoy, conveying that workshops, short film screenings and a talk on Buttoned Houses will be organized in the Living Heritage program, stated that the festival will contribute to the telling, keeping alive and protection of traditional values.
Inviting art lovers to the Three Painters exhibition as well, Ersoy stated that works from Mustafa Taviloğlu's collection bringing together the different artistic approaches of Alaeddin Aksoy, Mehmet Güleryüz and Komet will be presented to visitors. Ersoy emphasized that the collection, formed through Taviloğlu's passion for art, offers a rich art experience.
ANTALYA'S FLAVORS WILL BE CARRIED FROM THE TAURUS MOUNTAINS TO THE MEDITERRANEAN COASTS
Describing gastronomy as one of the fields they attach great importance to, Ersoy said they are working to bring Turkish cuisine to the position it deserves in the world and to increase its global recognition.
Ersoy, stating that they consider the Türkiye Culture Road Festival as a showcase in line with this goal, expressed that they present the culinary richness of cities and regions to visitors with flavors prepared by chefs.
Announcing that chef Mehmet Akdağ will host the Antalya gastronomy program, Ersoy said that along with the Antalya, Korkuteli, Elmalı, Gömbe, Finike, Beycik and Kaş route, Manavgat and Alanya routes have been created. Ersoy expressed that at the designated flavor points, dishes bringing traditional culinary culture together with a contemporary gastronomy approach will be served.
Ersoy, stating that more than 10 concerts, over 30 exhibitions and installations, nearly 30 workshops, as well as tours, photography events and programs combining culture, art, entertainment and learning for children will be organized at the festival, invited all Antalya residents to the festival with their families.
MINISTER ERSOY ANNOUNCED THE INVESTMENTS BROUGHT TO ANTALYA
Ersoy, saying that the work they carry out to prepare Antalya for the future aims to create significant differences in citizens' sociocultural and socioeconomic lives by evaluating the city's tourism potential in the most accurate way, made statements regarding investments in the city.
Ersoy, stating that they opened the İbradı Ormana Culture Center with an investment of 87 million lira, announced that within the scope of the Support Project for Culture Investments Made by the Public, they provided a total of 11.1 million lira support to 4 projects.
Ersoy, stating that they completed the Serik 2 Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Boğazkent Pumping Station and pumping works in 2022, and the Kemer-Çamyuva Wastewater Treatment and Associated Infrastructure Facilities in 2024 in order to strengthen Antalya's infrastructure, reported that the total cost of these investments reached 8 billion lira.
Ersoy, conveying that work continues on an additional sewage pumping line and associated infrastructure facilities covering the Kocayatak and Çandır neighborhoods, as well as on adding 2 final settling tanks and a disinfection unit to the Serik 2 Wastewater Treatment Plant, said these works are targeted for completion at the end of the month. Ersoy also noted that they opened 14 free public beaches in Antalya, offering service at the quality of 5-star facilities, for public use.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SUPPORT EXCEEDING 1 BILLION LIRA FOR ANTALYA'S HISTORY
Ersoy also described the work aimed at protecting Antalya's cultural heritage, saying that through the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums, 24 projects and 101 implementation works were completed between 2018 and 2026, while 9 projects and 9 implementation works are ongoing.
Regarding the work within the scope of the Legacy to the Future Project, Ersoy made the following statements:
“Within the scope of Legacy to the Future, the largest project in our archaeology history, as of 2024 we are conducting work at 26 archaeological sites in Antalya. In this direction, we have allocated over 1 billion 60 million liras for excavation and simple repair work in the 2024-2026 period. ”
Stating that 14 projects have been completed and 7 projects are ongoing in order to establish the scientific infrastructure for conservation and restoration work at archaeological sites and to meet visitor needs, Ersoy reported.
Ersoy stated that in the last 8 years they have opened the Antalya Ethnography, Mevlevihane, Necropolis, Alanya Atatürk House and Lycian Civilizations museums, as well as the Side Arif Müfid Mansel Archaeology Museum, to visitors, and said that 6 of the 8 conservation-oriented development plan studies carried out in Antalya since 2018 have been completed, while the remaining 2 studies are ongoing.
Ersoy, stating that they carried out all these investments with the aim of increasing Antalya’s share in world tourism, protecting, keeping alive and carrying its cultural heritage into the future, emphasized that they will continue their work with the same determination.
ERSOY’S EMPHASIS ON A CRISIS-RESILIENT SECTOR IN TOURISM
Drawing attention to the importance of the goal of spreading Turkish tourism across 12 months and 81 provinces, Ersoy said that market diversity should be increased, products and services should be developed to meet the expectations of different markets, and a sustainable tourism ecosystem should be created.
Stating that achieving this goal will create a crisis-resilient tourism sector, one of the fundamental needs of world tourism, Ersoy expressed that institutional structures such as the Turkish Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA), city- and region-based investments, and the standards achieved in the fields of facilities, personnel, transportation, promotion and sustainability are important steps taken in this direction.
Stating that developments ranging from the Thomas Cook crisis to the Covid-19 pandemic, and from the Russia-Ukraine war to the Iran-Israel-US conflicts, have shown that Türkiye has gained resilience against crises in tourism, Ersoy said they continue to work to further strengthen this resilience.
A NEW ERA IN CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION TOURISM AT THE ANTALYA EXPO AREA
At the end of his speech, Ersoy announced an important project regarding the future of Antalya tourism, announcing that they aim to make the city one of the world's most favored destinations in the M. I. C. E. field, which refers to meetings, incentive travel, conventions and event tourism.
Stating that they are preparing Antalya for the future with cultural and tourism investments as well as airport capacity expansion and highway transportation work carried out with other ministries, Ersoy said the new project would make a significant contribution to the city's tourism potential.
Ersoy announced that in Antalya, which will host the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on November 9-20, the EXPO area will be used for convention and exhibition tourism after the organization.
Ersoy said the following regarding the project:
“After hosting this major international organization, we are moving toward a new structure composed of professionals, which we will establish under the TGA umbrella to bring to life one of Türkiye's largest and most important fair, convention and event centers in the Antalya EXPO area. By creating a world-scale, very high-quality center for convention and exhibition tourism, which is an important need for Antalya tourism, we will also bring activity to the winter and spring periods. ”
Expressing his belief that the project will make important contributions not only to convention and exhibition tourism but also to Antalya's social, cultural and artistic life, Ersoy emphasized that the new support mechanism to be created for the tourism sector will make a serious difference and wished the project well for Türkiye and Antalya.
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