Artvin: A City of Blue and Green

President Gül, on the road to the city of Rize, dropped by the counties of Çayeli, Pazar, Ardeşen, Arhavi and Borçka respectively and enjoyed the great enthusiasm and elation of the citizens greeting him with the Turkish flags in their hands. Later, he visited the Natural Life Museum in the town of Eskipazar.

Addressing the citizens waiting for him in front of the Provincial Governorate of the county of Ardeşen, President Gül lauded the county and the city of Artvin for their natural beauties and said they should cherish the country and their homelands.

The President afterwards proceeded to the county of Arhavi, where he was welcomed with the great interest of the citizens. Declaring the city of Artvin to be paradise on earth, the President later visited the county of Borçka.

Welcomed by Governor Necmettin Kalkan, MPs, Garrison Commander Col. Güven Dalgıç, Mayor Emin Özgün and other officials upon his arrival in the city of Artvin, President Gül expressed his happiness to be visiting the city which he said enjoys many cultural, historical and natural beauties.

The President further visited the municipality where he was welcomed by the Mayor and during his visit he pointed to the importance of the efforts of mayors to make cities better places for citizens to live in every way.

President Gül also visited the gendarmerie Command and Artvin Çoruh University, where he was informed by Rector Prof. Dr. Mehmet Duman about the university.

The President afterwards inspected the Deriner Dam, which is on the Çoruh River and which is Turkey's highest and the world's 6th highest dam with a height of 249 m (817 ft) and length of 720m (2,360 ft), during his domestic visit to the northeastern province of Artvin.

President Gül, in the evening, met with families of martyrs and war veterans, representatives of NGOs and other citizens at dinner, shared his happiness to be with the people of Artvin, which he said he has visited for the first time. Artvin, he said, connects Turkey to the Caucasus through the Black Sea and via the Black Sea to Central Asia. The Sarp border gate, he added, is of great importance not only to Artvin but also to the whole of the country, stating that Artvin with its cultural and natural beauties adds to the richness of the country.