Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism

More than 8.91 million people visited Turkish museums and archaeological sites in 2020, despite the negative effects of the coronavirus outbreak.

The sites have an important role in the context of protecting cultural heritage, transferring it to future generations and generating a collective memory.

Gezi Park is one of over 1,000 properties that the Directorate General of Foundations has taken over within the last few years, but undoubtedly the most symbolic one for Erdogan alongside Istanbul's landmark Hagia Sophia.

Turkey's ruling party spokesman on June 3 hailed demands for equality as anti-racist protests continue in the country after the killing of African-American man George Floyd. 

Turkey is against all groups trying to turn legitimate protests in the US violent and bring public order under their destructive influence, said Ömer Çelik, spokesman for the AKP, after a party board meeting. 

A Turkish master of the traditional shadow play Karagöz and Hacivat aims to preserve the art according to its origins.

Metin Özlen, 80, said he learned the shadow play at the age of four from stories his grandfather told him. He later became interested in production techniques and created his first figures from cardboard.