Turkish cultural center inks deal with NBA team

ANKARA

Turkey’s state-run cultural institute on Wednesday announced that it has signed a deal with NBA team Cleveland Cavaliers to promote Turkish culture.

"We are truly honored to sign an agreement with Cleveland Cavaliers @cavs in terms of promoting Turkish culture," Halid Bulut, director of Yunus Emre Institute’s Washington D.C. office, said on Twitter.

"We also appreciate for the gesture they made, remembering the victims of the tragic earthquake in Elazıg and Malatya following our agreement," Bulut said, referring to the eastern provinces of Turkey where a 6.8-magnitude quake claimed 41 lives and injured more than 1,000 others.

Under the deal, a cultural event featuring Turkish culture and cuisine will take place on April 11, when Turkish basketball player Cedi Osman's team Cleveland Cavaliers will face Ersan Ilyasova's Milwaukee Bucks.

The Yunus Emre Institute is a public foundation that works to promote Turkey’s language, history, culture and art to increase cultural exchange.