Austin's Sister City in Turkey
The Austin-Antalya Sister City Committee...
is focused on facilitating intercultural and interfaith dialogue. Antalya is home to polytheists, Jews, Christians, and Muslims, and thus has a tradition of peaceful coexistence among faiths. Austin and Antalya have been Sister Cities since 2009.
The Austin-Antalya Sister City Committee consists of 12 members and is headed by Kadir Akkus.
Partnership Outcomes:
The Texas-Antalya Friendship Commemorative Forest, opened with funds raised in Texas to aid Antalya after a large forest fire
Turkic-Texan Friendship Reception
Turkish language classes at ACC and recognition of Turkish as an official foreign language by the Texas Education Agency
ABOUT Antalya
Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of its eponymous province. Located on Anatolia's flourishing southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish city on the Mediterranean coast with over one million people in its metropolitan area.
Antalya is Turkey's biggest international sea resort, located on the Turkish Riviera. Large-scale development and governmental funding has promoted tourism. A record 12.5 million tourists passed through the city in 2014. In 2015, the population was 2.288 million.