East-West Friendship & Silkroad Rally Türkiye Stage Starting Ceremony was held in Sultanahmet Square

Türkiye Stage Starting Ceremony of the "East-West Friendship & Silkroad Rally", which has been supported by Directorate for EU Affairs since 2010 within the framework of the European Union Communication Strategy (EUCS), was held in Sultanahmet Square on 3 May 2026.

The rally start ceremony was attended by Deputy Director General for Relations with the EU Murat Şen, President of the East–West Friendship & Silk Road Rally Association Nadir Serin, TÜVTÜRK General Manager Koray Özcan, OPET Marketing Manager Gül Altan as well as staff of the Consulates General and the representatives of international organizations, and members from the International Transporters’ Association and the Classic Mercedes-Benz Club.

While the participants of the rally, which has been organized since 2005 by the "Silk Road Rally e.V Association" headquartered in Germany, expressing their happiness in coming together with Turkish people in Istanbul, which unites the West and the East, Europe and Asia; Nadir Serin, the President of the Association, stated that he believes that the participants would return their countries as Türkiye's voluntary ambassadors.