Prizren & Bodrum

    In 2020, our Mayor Mr. Ahmet Aras's visit to Prizren and the 'Invest in Prizren' Investment and Development Forum held in Prizren from August 24-26, 2021, led by our delegation and the Deputy Mayor of Bodrum at the time, marked the beginning of the relationship between Prizren and Bodrum. The relationship continued with the unofficial visit of Prizren Mayor Shaqir Totaj to Bodrum on September 12, 2022. During the process of becoming Sister Cities between Bodrum Municipality and Prizren Municipality, it was unanimously decided, based on Prizren Municipality's municipal council decision dated June 30, 2022, and subsequently, Bodrum Municipality Council Decision dated September 2, 2022, related to the matter, to establish a Sister City relationship with Prizren Municipality. Approval was obtained for the establishment of a Sister City relationship between Bodrum Municipality and Prizren Municipality based on the letter dated November 7, 2022, from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change. On July 13, 2023, during the official visit of Prizren Mayor Mr. Shaqir TOTAJ and Deputy Chairman of Prizren Municipality Council Mr. Levent BUŞ to Bodrum, a Ministry-approved 'Sister City Protocol' was signed between the two municipal governments.

    Prizren Municipality invited the Bodrum Municipality delegation within the scope of the 'Dokufest Short Film Festival,' which took place in Prizren between August 9th and August 12th, 2023.

    Representing Bodrum Municipality at the invitation, the Acting Mayor, Ms. Emel ÇAKALOĞLU, along with the Municipal Council members of Bodrum, Ms. Ayşenaz GÜLTEKİN ÖNCEL, Mr. Yunus ASLANPARÇASI, Mr. Mustafa ÇORTOĞLU, Mr. Mustafa COŞKUN, Numan CÖMERT, Acting Director of Press & Public Relations Kenan APAYDIN, and Timur ALTIOK, the Head of the Foreign Affairs Bureau, composed the delegation. Additionally, Mr. Gürkan TOPAN, a member of the BODTO Board of Directors and investor Mr. Cenk SEZGİN participated in the meetings to represent our district as well.

    During this visit, the Consul General of the Republic of Türkiye in Prizren, Mr. Celal DOĞAN, the Chairman of the Prizren Municipal Council, Ms. Antigona BYTYQI (Butiki), and the Mayor of Prizren, Mr. Shaqir TOTAJ were visited by our delegation at their offices. Subsequently, visits were made to Kiriazi Brothers Middle School, the Kosovo Turkish Teachers' Association, and the ‘DOĞRU YOL’ Turkish Culture and Art Association.

    During the visit to the DOĞRU YOL Turkish Culture and Art Association, a performance consisting of folk dances and Turkish folk music was presented by students. In our visit to the Kosovo Turkish Teachers' Association, information was obtained about the education and teaching structure in Turkish language in Kosovo, especially in Prizren. In order to support the students studying there, Bodrum Municipality gifted 160 school education sets to the students.

    In the meetings held, consultations were made regarding the development of bilateral relations in tourism, trade and cultural areas between Prizren and Bodrum. There was a consensus on promoting effective promotions of both cities in terms of tourism and conducting necessary negotiations with airlines to increase the number of direct flights between Bodrum and Prizren.