Mayor Recep Gurkan recently wished a new year’s welcome to Greek tourists coming over the border to shop in his city… but not all of the locals mimicked his hospitality.
Gurkan faced backlash on social media after creating Greek-language posters which called him “Mayor of Adrianoupolis” instead of Edirne — the city’s Turkish name.
Hung all over the walls and windows of the city’s stores, the posters featured a celebratory new year’s greeting to accommodate the growing number Greek tourists during the past six months.
Gurkan received backlash from various Twitter users in Turkey, including Said Ercan, president of the Istanbul-based International Social Media Association (USMED), who has more than one million followers.
Translation: Are you happy? You don’t deserve this land!
Translation: You put Turkish flag in your profile as if you were Turkish. If you’d put on a Greek flag, you’d have told me one thing, a******.
Translation: Who are you trying to win a vote for? The place you’re running is Edirne! Neither Adrianapolis nor any other crap. It’s a place in the Turkish Republic. Who are you trying to do? Whose dog are you?
Gurkan has not responded to critics as of Monday.
The mayor’s border city continues to see an influx of Greek shoppers seeking favorable exchange rates as the Turkish lira has decreased in value relative to the euro — approximately 30 percent since early 2018.
