Edirne province is ready to come to the forefront in the agritourism sector to accompany its already strong cultural, religious, gastronomic and marine tourism.

Lavender Field Days, organized by the Edirne Agricultural Research Institute this year, kicked off on June 10 and will continue until June 16. The festival's events will include concerts, talks and lavender oil squeezing demonstrations in the lavender fields of the institute.

Local artisans are also participating in the event to support "purple" tourism, which draws domestic and foreign tourists to the city. Producing juices, cookies, ice cream and other treats from lavender, they are ready to welcome visitors in the most beautiful way. Kemal Kılıç, who produces local desserts in the city in addition to serving in many branches of tourism, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that Edirne has begun to attract thousands of tourists with its agricultural tourism.

Pointing out that the purple color of lavender is good for lifting people's spirits, while the blossoms also delight taste buds, Kılıç stressed: "This year, we decided to produce a product with lavender harvested from Edirne's fields. We combined Turkish delight, which is one of our traditional sweets, with lavender and created a very delicious product. Our city will smell like lavender this year and will be saturated with lavender treats."

Can Ürenli produces fruit soap, which has been one of the most famous crafts and souvenirs in the city since the Ottoman period, said they also crafted lavender soap for the

event.Lavender bouquets for liver fans

Edirne's renowned fried liver restaurants are also introducing their customers to lavender by decorating their tables with lavender bouquets.

Bahri Dinar, the president of the Association for Promoting Edirne and the Quality Protection of Fried Liver, stated that the touristic city Edirne is always ready to welcome guests. Mentioning that lavender days will lend more color to the region's tourism, Dinar continued: "Lavender days, which are actually called ‘purple days,' started on Monday. We, as fried liver restaurant owners, also offer a bouquet of lavender as a gift to our customers. We are ready to welcome visitors for our purple event. We will wear special attire over the next few days and plan to decorate our shops with all things purple and, of course, bouquets of lavender."