After two years marked with uncertainties, losses and restrictions, members of the Turkish diaspora enjoy an unrestricted return to their home country. Edirne, bordering Bulgaria and Greece, are teeming with “gurbetçi” as they are known, nowadays, seeking to spend their summer holiday in Turkey.
The northwestern Turkish province is the main point of entry for expatriates traveling by land, often with their families. With travel restrictions stemming from the coronavirus pandemic loosened both in Europe and Turkey, their numbers are expected to swell this year.
“I almost cried,” Aylin Kaplan, a Turkish expat living in Germany told Ihlas News Agency (IHA) on Tuesday as she drove through the Kapıkule border crossing in Edirne. “It has been one year since my last visit. I will see my family, my friends. I missed Turkey very much,” she said. Serpil Atasayar has not been to Turkey for years amid the pandemic and she too almost cried as she entered through the border crossing with her family after arriving from Germany. She will visit her relatives before heading south for a vacation. “I wasn’t born here but I miss Turkey so much,” she told Demirören News Agency (DHA).
Edirne Governor H. Kürşat Kırbıyık and Abdullah Eren, head of the Presidency of Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) were at Kapıkule on Tuesday, to welcome Turkey’s summer visitors. YTB provides assistance both on the border and abroad for expatriates driving from Europe. Kırbıyık told reporters that the number of Turks arriving from European countries increased last week and they have seen an influx of holidaymakers, especially at the weekend. “We made all the preparations at the customs gates for their smooth travel. We want to ease the process of entry and departure for our citizens,” he said. Kırbıyık also invited expats to “spend at least a few hours” in Edirne en route to their other destinations in Turkey.
Abdullah Eren said more than 1.5 million Turks living in Europe visit Turkey every summer and they strived to assist them in their travels, including at a major border crossing in Serbia. Eren said they would also organize festivals for expats this year across Turkey.
About 6 million Turkish citizens live in European countries. As a result of labor agreements signed with various European countries in the 1960s, Europe has seen a flow of workers from Turkey. Germany currently hosts the largest number of Turkish immigrants, mostly descendants of "guest workers."
