Fethiye Honored at London Celebration
A Fethiye cooperative representative presented local products at a House of Lords event marking Avrupa Gazetesi's 25th anniversary.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Cultural
Çiğdem Karaca, president of the Lycia Women's Cooperative, represented Fethiye at a November 3 event at the UK House of Lords in Westminster celebrating the 25th anniversary of Avrupa Gazetesi. The event also included a Turkish media workshop, a historical exhibition and an awards ceremony.
Why it matters
The gathering highlights Turkish-language media and cultural exchange among diaspora communities in the United Kingdom. It also gave Fethiye's local craft traditions an international audience.
Avrupa Gazetesi published its first edition on February 21, 2002, in East London with an initial print run of 30,000 copies. The stub does not report attendance figures for the November 3 House of Lords event.
The players
Avrupa Gazetesi
A Turkish-language newspaper serving the Turkish community in the United Kingdom, marking 25 years of publication at this event.
Çiğdem Karaca
President of the Lycia Women's Cooperative, who presented Fethiye's products and introduced the cooperative's business and social network model at the event.
Lord Qurban Hussain, Baron Hussain of Luton
A UK peer who hosted the House of Lords event celebrating the newspaper's anniversary.
The details
Karaca presented guests with gifts from Fethiye, including Kaya carpet, Seydiler kilim and dastar products showcasing the town's weaving heritage. The event was hosted by Lord Qurban Hussain, Baron Hussain of Luton, and was supported by Turkey's Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities; Mark Stephens CBE was scheduled to deliver a keynote but could not attend due to an urgent UK injunction case.
Timeline
- February 21, 2002: Avrupa Gazetesi publishes its first edition in East London.
- November 3, 2026: House of Lords event celebrates the newspaper's 25th anniversary.
Cultural Exchange
The anniversary reflects the continued role of Turkish-language diaspora press in the United Kingdom, extending a quarter century of community publishing. It places a Fethiye craft cooperative alongside that media heritage in a London setting supported by Turkey's Presidency for Turks Abroad.
Readers interested in Turkish-language diaspora media can follow Avrupa Gazetesi's continuing coverage of the Turkish community in the United Kingdom. The stub does not indicate any new distribution, subscription or event access changes.
The takeaway
Diaspora newspapers can serve as a bridge between home-region craft traditions and host-country audiences, as this Fethiye presentation in London illustrates. Community institutions that sustain such exchanges often outlast the individual events that showcase them.
Further reading
Explore more stories in our Cultural section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Fethiye Times.
