Turkiye

1 million tourists expected in Phrygia in 2021

With the investments made in the historical Phrygian Valley with its extensions in the Ihsaniye district, under the leadership of the Afyonkarahisar Governorship, 1 million tourists are expected to the region in 2021.

A project-based investment of over ₺10 million was made to the new tourism destination created in the villages of Doger, Ayazini, Demirli and Bayramaliler, a district of Phrygia, with a 506-kilometer walking path and historical heritage from the budgets of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization and the Governorship of Afyonkarahisar.

With the “Ayazini Tourism Village”, “Emre Lake and the Phrygian Civilization Garden Project”, where construction works are continuing rapidly, hot air balloon flights are expected to become operational in the spring, with a high level of tourism activity in the region.

Phrygia, where 3 thousand years old historical settlements, carved rock tombs, fairy chimneys, churches, chapels, monumental monuments, and activities in Emre Lake continue to be the center of attention of many local and foreign tourists.

Ihsaniye District Governor Semih Doganoglu told Anadolu Agency (AA) that serious work is being carried out on the tourism infrastructure of Phrygia within the scope of the investments initiated under the leadership of Afyonkarahisar Governor Gokmen Cicek.

Reminding that around 250 thousand tourists came to Phrygia in 2020 and previous years, Doganoglu said:

“With new investments in the region, we aim to host 1 million local and foreign tourists at the end of 2021 in our new tourism destination in our historic Phrygian Valley. This is how we carry out our planning. I hope the number we have in our hearts is much higher than this number. The investments made in the region are at a level that can accommodate guests above these numbers.”

Doganoglu explained that the people of the settlements in the Phrygian region also support tourism activities and continue their preparations to contribute to the mobility to be experienced on the route.

“Phrygia will have over millions of visitors”

Murat Acar from the village of Ayazini stated that the investments made for the new tourism destination in Phrygia both opened the horizons of the people of the region and added liveliness to the tourism dynamism as their hidden history came to light.

Field Guide Hasan Ozpinar stated that from the first weeks of 2021, tourists from Russia, Ukraine, and the Turkic Republics started to flock to Phrygia, which they are curious about, and he added saying, “Restoration work continues rapidly with new projects in the region. Hopefully, in the future, Phrygia will reach more than millions of visitors.”

Phrygian fascination of the Russian tourist

Russian tourist Elena Vorontsova also stated that they visited Turkey region by region and that she came to Phrygia for the first time today and admired the historical texture and said, “Some friends on our tour bus said, ‘Phrygia is more beautiful than Cappadocia’. We liked Phrygia very much and we are starstruck. Today we are in Ayazini village, this place is really beautiful. Besides, its people are very warm and hospitable.”

Source: AA / Translated by Irem Yildiz

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