A tourism fair and photo exhibition will mark the first concrete steps taken toward reconciliation between Turkey and Israel after their relations crippled seven years ago.
Culture and Tourism Minister Nabi Avcı will be the first high-ranking Turkish official to visit Israel since then, after the two countries signed a deal to patch up ties last year. The minister will attend a tourism fair in Tel Aviv in February and will attend the opening of a photo exhibition on Turkish-Israeli relations.
The two countries were on friendly terms for decades due to their shared history. Most Israeli cities were once Ottoman territories. Turkey has been among safe havens for Jews historically when they faced persecution elsewhere and it also has been among the few allies for Israel in a region hostile to the Jewish state.
As Israel stepped up its blockade on Gaza, Turkey raised its voice for Palestinians and when nine Turkish activists aboard an aid vessel heading to Gaza to break the blockade in 2010 were killed by Israeli commandos storming the ship, bilateral relations hit rock bottom.
After Israel apologized for the raid and agreed to allow humanitarian aid from Turkey to Gaza, relations were largely restored.
Before Avcı leaves for Israel, a top Israeli foreign ministry diplomat will be the first high-ranking Israeli official to hold talks with Turkish diplomats in Ankara today.
Nabi Avcı will attend the 23rd International Tourism Exhibition in Tel Aviv between Feb. 7-8 before he heads to Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, where he will meet officials and visit the grave of Yasser Arafat, a legendary Palestinian leader who pursued peace efforts with Israel.
Avcı will meet his Israeli counterpart Miri Regev before the opening of the trade show and will discuss culture and tourism cooperation between the two countries. He will also meet with representatives of the Turkish and Israeli tourism sector, in a bid to end the decline in the number of tourists from Israel.
Before the raid on the aid vessel, the number of Israeli tourists visiting Turkey had reached as high as 560,000 a year but it dropped to just 50,000 after the raid. The figures rose to about 200,000 last year but Turkey wants to increase it to at least 500,000 tourists a year once again.
The Turkish minister will also discuss the resumption of joint cultural projects and scientific studies between Turkish and Israeli universities left incomplete in the wake of the crisis in ties. One of them is a Turkish culture center in Jaffa, a building that served as the headquarters of the Ottoman administration before the foundation of Israel and was in a decrepit state before the restoration started prior to the decline in relations.
Avcı will then inaugurate a photo exhibition that will focus on the decades-old ties of Turkey and Israel.
After his visit to Ramallah, Avcı is scheduled to visit Jerusalem where he will attend the opening of another photo exhibition, this time on the old city of Jerusalem, where he will also visit the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
