On Novermber 30 , with recognition of American and Turkish Anthems began the grand opening of the new facility of Ahiska Turkish American Community Center, located at 1306, E Fifth street, Dayton,Ohio. Not only all top officials of Dayton but also those from Montgomery County, Ohio State, Turkish Embassy and heads of many international organizations attended the event: State Senator Bill Beagle,State Representative Roland Winburn, Consul General of the Republic of Turkey Fatih Yildiz,the former governor of Ohio Bob Taft, Secretaries of Azerbaijan Embassy Rashad Najaf and Emil Safarov, , Past President of Assembly of Turkish American Assocuiations Gunay Evinch, General Secretary of Federation of Turkish American Associations Turan Atabek Ayaz, Former president of International Committee for Crimea Inci Bowman, Director of Karabakh Foundation Adil Bugairov,Representatives of World Union of Ahiska Turks Sadyr Eibov and Abbas Hamza,Leaders of Dayton Communities, Dayton University and Wright State University Officials, Businessmen, and many other guests.
Few archaeological sites seem as entwined with conflict, ancient and modern, as the city of Karkemish. The scene of a battle mentioned in the Bible, it lies smack on the border between Turkey and Syria, where civil war rages today. Twenty-first century Turkish sentries occupy an acropolis dating back more than 5,000 years, and the ruins were recently demined. Visible from crumbling, earthen ramparts, a Syrian rebel flag flies in a town that regime forces fled just months ago. A Turkish-Italian team is conducting the most extensive excavations there in nearly a century, building on the work of British Museum teams that included T.E. Lawrence, the adventurer known as Lawrence of Arabia. The plan is to open the site along the Euphrates river to tourists in late 2014.
