Turkish cultural institute marks 10 years since opening in Lebanon

BEIRUT, Lebanon

Turkiye’s Yunus Emre Institute in Lebanon has celebrated 10 years since its inauguration in the Arab country.

"We are trying together to reestablish and strengthen our historical bonds with the Lebanese people," Ferkan Ozdemir, the institute’s coordinator in Lebanon, told a ceremony marking the anniversary.

He said the cultural institute has taught the Turkish language to around 15,000 people in Lebanon over the past ten years.

The ceremony was also attended by Turkish Ambassador to Beirut Ali Barıs Ulusoy and the coordinator of the Turkish development agency TIKA in Lebanon, Orhan Eden, along with a group of teachers and students of the Turkish language.

The Turkish envoy, for his part, said Yunus Emre Institute helped spread the Turkish history and culture worldwide by strengthening friendship and cultural ties with other countries.

Since its establishment in 2009, the cultural institute has opened 63 branches in 52 countries worldwide.

Yunus Emre is a Turkish folk poet and mystic who lived in Anatolia from the mid-13th century to the first quarter of the 14th century.

Writing by Ahmed Asmar