On the 39th anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), the opening ceremony of the “Northern Cyprus – The Pearl of the Mediterranean” photo exhibition, organised in cooperation with the TRNC Gaziantep Consulate General and Hasan Kalyoncu University (HKU), was held at the HKU Culture and Arts Centre in the Kozanlı District.
The exhibition, which comprises photographs taken by Photographer Mehmet Gökyiğit in the north of Cyprus, an island with a history of ten thousand years, was curated by the Faculty of Communication and the Faculty of Fine Arts and Architecture of Hasan Kalyoncu University. At the ceremony held at the HKU Culture and Arts Centre, HKU Rector Prof. Dr. Türkay Dereli, TRNC Gaziantep Consul General Fatma Demirel, Acting Mayor of Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Mehmet Berk, Photographer Mehmet Gökyiğit and Cyprus Veterans opened the exhibition by cutting the ribbon. The protocol members who toured the exhibition examined with great admiration the works of Photographer Mehmet Gökyiğit, which capture the historical sites, architecture, monuments and natural landscapes of Northern Cyprus.
RECTOR PROF. DR. TÜRKAY DERELİ CELEBRATED THE 39TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF THE TURKISH REPUBLIC OF NORTHERN CYPRUS
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the exhibition, Prof. Dr. Türkay Dereli said: “At our 2021-2022 Academic Year Ceremony, we hosted TRNC President Ersin Tatar at our university and conferred upon him the title of ‘Honorary Doctor of Science’ in the field of Political Science and International Relations. President Ersin Tatar gave our students the first opening lecture, titled ‘The Struggle of Turkish Cypriots for Existence on the Island from Past to Present’. In his speech that day, Tatar said ‘Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot people are as inseparable as flesh and fingernail’, expressing the inseparability of the Republic of Türkiye and the TRNC. We regard the photo exhibition we have opened today, together with the TRNC Gaziantep Consulate General, as the first of the many cultural and arts events that we will, God willing, hold in Gaziantep from now on. We thank Mr Mehmet Gökyiğit very much for reflecting the beauty and values of the TRNC to us through his photographs. The exhibition, featuring 35 photographs, can be visited until 30 November. On this occasion, I heartily celebrate the 39th anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, I remember with mercy and respect all our martyrs who sacrificed their lives for this cause, and I express my gratitude to our veterans and wish them long and healthy lives.”
“WE WILL SEE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FRAMES OF NORTHERN CYPRUS IN THIS EXHIBITION”
TRNC Gaziantep Consul General Fatma Demirel, for her part, said: “At the ‘Northern Cyprus – The Pearl of the Mediterranean’ photo exhibition, we will see the selections of our very valuable artist Mehmet Gökyiğit. I express my gratitude to Hasan Kalyoncu University Rector Prof. Dr. Türkay Dereli, who gave us great support in realising this exhibition in such a beautiful setting, and to all the academic and administrative staff who contributed. With these feelings and thoughts, as we commemorate all our martyrs on the occasion of the 39th anniversary of the founding of Northern Cyprus with respect and gratitude, I extend my appreciation to all our living Cyprus Veterans and wish them a healthy and long life.”
News: Okan ULUFER /HKU
