Teknofest, Türkiye's premier aviation and technology event, will land in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa between Sept. 30 and Oct. 4 next year, adding the ancient city to the festival’s expanding geographic footprint, organizers have announced.
Expected to welcome thousands of guests, the eagerly awaited festival is set to deliver substantial benefits to the region's economic, social and tourism prospects.
Şanlıurfa Governor Hasan Şıldak said hosting the festival would bring “significant energy and motivation” to the province, adding that the city has been preparing for the possibility for some time.
Şıldak said Şanlıurfa is ready to take on an important role in technology and science.
Şanlıurfa Mayor Mehmet Kasım Gülpınar highlighted the city’s deep historical and scientific legacy, calling it a cradle of early astronomical observation in Mesopotamia.
Hosting Teknofest, he said, aligns with Şanlıurfa’s identity as the place “where people first read the sky.”
First held in Istanbul in 2018, Teknofest has since become one of the world’s largest public technology festivals, rotating between Istanbul and other major Turkish cities and extending abroad to Azerbaijan and Turkish Cyprus.
This year, the festival took place in two stages: May 1–4 at the former Ercan Airport in the Turkish Cypriot capital Nicosia and Sept. 17–21 at Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport, attracting a total of 1.5 million visitors. More than 565,000 teams and 1.1 million participants applied for contests at the event.
To date, nearly 13 million people have attended Teknofest events, which showcase technology competitions, air shows, exhibitions and workshops aimed at encouraging innovation and inspiring young talent.
