In another step to restore relations between the two countries Russian State Duma Chairman Sergei Naryshkin and Turkey's Ambassador to Russia Ümit Yardım on Sunday attended the opening ceremony of an exhibition of Pavel and Anastasia Khoroshilov's collection of 19th century Turkish photography, titled, "I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed..."
"The first one, of course, is Istanbul itself - a city that has a special place in the life of every Turkish citizen, no matter where he is. This city matches the state of mind of any Turkish citizen. We do our best to make this city even more beautiful. Recently we opened bridge, which connects the European and Asian parts of Istanbul. Sure, our world has a lot of beautiful cities, but we always say that Istanbul has a special place in the world, and we emphasize this with a great pride," Yardım stated.
"The second aspect - we attach great importance to the development of relations with Russia in the field of culture, art, public life. We welcome such events, we are ready to actively support them, and we are very grateful to the Russian side for its contribution to the development of our relations," Yardım added.
"A lot of good things can be said about Istanbul, but everyone should know that this city is fantastic. Orhan Veli probably thought that this city is magical when he wrote these lines. Words are not enough to understand, to grasp the beauty of Istanbul. There is a metaphysical side of Istanbul, which can be grasped only after hearing it. We can grasp the spirit of this city only by closing our eyes, only by feeling this city. The name of this exhibition reflect emotional connection of any Turkish citizen with this beautiful city. In other words, we close our eyes, but at the same time we open our hearts, confess our love to this city."
