Turkey's Yunus Emre Institute marked its 10th year in Lebanon on Thursday, an occasion to celebrate its far-reaching Turkish language courses. The institute prides itself on teaching the Turkish language to some 15,000 people since it opened its first branch in the country in 2012.

The institute conducts courses, cultural and arts activities in 30 locations for Lebanese citizens. Institute's coordinator Ibrahim Furkan Özdemir said the Lebanese public has shown a huge interest in their courses and activities. Turkish courses are being held both in-person and online due to the coronavirus pandemic. Özdemir said Lebanese University also had a Turkology department and they were offering selective Turkish courses at Beirut American University and Saint Joseph University.

"Upon requests, we provided Turkish classes for different segments of the public, from the army to police, from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to people living in villages," he told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Thursday. The institute also organizes concerts where songs with lyrics compiled from poems written by Yunus Emre (a Turkish folk poet who lived between the mid-13th and early 14th century in Anatolia) are recited, along with film screenings and workshops of ebru, the art of marbling.

Özdemir said the age and status of people enthusiastic to learn Turkish is diverse. "Everyone comes to our courses to learn Turkish. Some want to study in Turkey, some are business people who bought homes in Turkey and plan to live there," he said.

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

Turkey maintains close ties with Lebanon. It was among the contributors of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and also took part in humanitarian efforts in the country which was suffering from an economic crisis. Along with Yunus Emre, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) is active in the country, running education and health projects.