Auburn Mayor Linda Blechinger was in Turkey last week on a trade mission sponsored by the Atlanta-based Istanbul Center in conjunction with the Turkish-American Chamber of Commerce of the Southeast United States.
A Gwinnett County chamber official last year introduced Blechinger to representatives of the Turkish organizations, and she accepted their invitation to participate in this year’s economic development exchange.
“They have an annual program to do an exchange of elected officials,” said Nick Masino, the Gwinnett chamber’s vice-president of economic development. “They come here with elected officials, and we send elected officials there. The mayor of Norcross went last year. You go all day, all night, meeting with dignitaries and visiting both cultural centers and governmental institutions.”
Blechinger embarked on her trip late last week.
In the mayor’s suitcase were several small pieces of art by members of the Georgia Piedmont Arts Center that recently relocated to downtown Auburn. The pieces included jewelry and small paintings that could fit in the mayor’s suitcase, said Kathleen Gill of the arts center.
The mayor said she planned to present the art as gifts to her Turkish hosts.
Since arriving in Turkey, Blechinger has sent the city staff some updates via e-mail.
On Saturday, she said the group went on a boat tour of a river fed by three seas.
“We saw castles, mosques and bazaars,” she wrote. “Went under aqueducts and over walls of Constantinople! We met a businesswoman on the boat that sponsored the boat ride and then treated us to dinner at her home — a feast fit for royalty!”
On Sunday, the mayor wrote that the group was departing from the ancient city of Ephesus.
“The city is amazing, a mix of architectural remains — Hittite, Ottoman and Roman.”
On Monday, she wrote that the American group had met with a deputy director of foreign trade who said he was “very interested” in forming partnerships with the U.S. and noted that Georgia is one of six states that their research shows has good potential for trade.
Blechinger said Turkey is “a treasure.”
“As we drive along there are mountains on every side. We see fig trees everywhere; pomegranate trees and olive trees are also abundant. Horses, goats and donkeys just meander along.
“The country is truly a treasure. The people are warm and inviting.”
The mayor returned home June 21. She said before she left that she paid her own airfare, and the Turkish groups hosting the visit are covering the rest of the expenses.
