First Lady Emine Erdoğan highlighted the importance of preserving and embracing the local heritage of Anatolia to carry it forward to future generations as she attended a women’s gathering in Türkiye’s eastern Siirt province on Friday.

"I believe that we will become a country that can create global values if we can protect the local heritage of our Anatolian cities, which have a vast heritage like Siirt," Erdoğan told attendees at the "Meeting with the Women of Siirt" at the Neslişah Sultan Cultural Center in Siirt province on Friday.

Noting that Siirt is her hometown, the first lady said she never broke her connection with Siirt and sees it as an obligation to protect the city’s rich heritage, including handcrafts, skills and more.

The first lady also praised the city’s atmosphere of fraternity, in which people from all cultures and sects live in harmony.

She also welcomed the recent progress on the production of the local "şal şepik" fabric, as she called on the people of Siirt to also strive to promote the pervari honey, tiftik blankets, Tillo’s doors, unique rice dish "perde pilavı," kitel dish and more.