To commemorate the 400th anniversary of his birth, the Ottoman traveller Evliya Çelebi will be honored with a series of events at the Vatican.

The event is jointly organized by the Turkish Language Association (TDK) and Turkish Embassy in Vatican City.

As 2011 was declared by UNESCO as the Year of Evliya Çelebi, the world-famous Ottoman traveller is being commemorated with various organizations in Turkey and abroad.

Exhibiton to open, panel discussion to be held

In the first part of the events that will be held at the Vatican’s Chancellery Palace today, there will be a panel discussion titled “In the Footstep of Evliya Çelebi.” TDK Chairman Professor Şükrü Haluk Akalın, Associate Professor Haluk Dursun, Professor Nevin Özkan, Professor Roberto Reali and Seyit Ali Kahraman will participate on the panel.

Evliya Çelebi and the geographies he travelled to will be discussed through the eyes of today’s travellers and travel writers.

As part of the events, an exhibition on Evliya Çelebi, which opened on March 25 at the Topkapı Palace, will also be organized. Visitors of the exhibition will listen to music from the period.

After the Evliya Çelebi program at the Vatican, Professor Kenan Gürsoy, the Turkish ambassador in Vatican City, will give a reception to guests.