The museum was introduced to members of the press by Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay on Thursday. Günay said the museum has a 2,500-square-meter exhibition hall. While noting that the museum was constructed by Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, he said they undertook building the museum to coordinate the exhibition of the mosaic collection.

“It was first conceived of as a mosaic museum and a classical [antiquity] museum at the same time. But taking the structure of the building and features of the city of Gaziantep into consideration, we thought it should be just a mosaic museum,” he explained.

The museum, which covers a 30,000 square-meter closed place, includes conference halls and other social facilities. “I believe this museum will have a special place for Turkey. In March and the beginning of April 2008, we laid the foundations for this museum and here we are for the opening early in 2011,” he added.

The minister also noted that Turkey is one of the richest countries in terms of its possession of archeological sources, adding that from Hatay to Van, in the south and east, Turkey is home to what he calls an “incredible” richness. “I believe in the future months, the number of the visitors to this geography will reach tens of millions,” he suggested.

Minister Günay also spoke about one of the most controversial questions in Turkey´s cultural world, the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM) in İstanbul, whose fate is hanging in the balance, being argued over by architects and city planners. As the center waits for renovation, Günay said the process regarding the renewal of the center is an “unforgettable reactionary story for Turkey.”

“There is a reaction hanging around like a ghost. This is a campaign against the new, the good or even the better. It is a malevolent campaign. … An amazing project, worth of TL 90 million, presented for the Atatürk Cultural Center fell victim [as a result of opposition to renovations],” he said.

When reminded of the wishes of artists who work at the center, Günay reacted harshly, saying: “This is the kind of approach that ruins Turkey. Some people want to maintain their privileges and areas of protocol [specially designed for them].” He also highlighted that asking for privileges is a social sickness in Turkey.

A ceremony will be held at the Sarp land border gate on the very same day with the participation of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Georgia´s President Mikheil Saakashvili and Georgian Prime Minister Nika Gilauri.

The modernized Sarp border gate will be inaugurated by the three leaders at the ceremony. By implementing a passport-free travel regime via the Sarp border gate -- through which approximately 2 million people pass in a year -- the traffic at the gate will also be eased. It is the main gate between the two neighbors through which almost 90 percent of road transport between the two countries passes.

Turkey´s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, delivering a speech in Konya on Thursday where he was campaigning for the upcoming parliamentary elections on June 12, talked about the issue.

“The passport-free era with Georgia will start. That´s to say, with identity cards. We are waiting for them to finish arrangements concerning the Georgian alphabet. Next week, we will finalize this during the prime minister´s eastern Black Sea coast visit Inshallah [God willing],” Davutoğlu was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency, as he participated in a monthly meeting of the Konya Chamber of Industry.

“Given that the human element is our most important resource, it is necessary to provide movement of the human element with the highest speed and remove any obstacles facing them [humans],” Davutoğlu added.

Immediately following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Turkey recognized the independence of Georgia, on Dec. 16, 1991, and on May 21, 1992, the Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the two countries was signed.

There are no problems with the political content of Turkish-Georgian relations, which, Ankara says, have developed with the principles of equality and mutual non-interference in each other´s domestic affairs. Visa exemption for touristic purposes of each other´s citizens up to 90 days, joint use of Batumi Airport and the free trade agreement already in force are indicators of the current level of good-neighborly relations, says the Turkish capital.

During a visit to Tbilisi in February, Davutoğlu spoke about the protection of shared cultural heritage. He said at the time that it would be an important area of cooperation and that historic churches in Turkey are also part of Turkey´s cultural heritage. The foreign minister promised that Turkey would continue necessary restoration on Georgian churches, adding that historical and cultural heritage in Ajaria and its capital, Batumi -- where a substantial number of Georgian Muslims live -- is also a mutual cultural heritage for both countries.