Seferihisar joins four other cities in Sister City International Program
Published in the June 26 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Marty Cheek
From left, Seferihisar Mayor Tunc Soyer, unofficial goodwill ambassador Bernie Mulligan and Councilwoman Marilyn Librers celebrate in Soyer’s office after the Turkish city joined Morgan Hill as an official Sister City.
Photo courtesy of Marilyn Librers
Last October, Bernie Mulligan traveled to the city of Seferihisar, located in the Izmir Province of Turkey. In that coastal town of 44,000 overlooking the Aegean Sea, Morgan Hill’s unofficial “ambassador of good will” met with its Mayor Tunc Soyer.
The two chatted about the similarities between Seferihisar and our own South Valley city. They learned about each other’s respective community’s agricultural heritage, environmental concerns, water quality, and the climate. By the end of their discussion, Mulligan presented Soyer with a proposal for the two communities to unite in a Sister City relationship.
“Mayor Soyer was very enthusiastic about this new adventure,” Mulligan said. “And I agreed to draw up the proclamation upon my return to Morgan Hill … The main objective (of our relationship) is the ability to understand a part of the world that very few Americans have visited.”
In December the paperwork was signed and Seferihisar joined Headford in Ireland, San Martin in Mexico, San Casciano in Italy, and Mizuho in Japan to become Morgan Hill’s fifth participant in the Sister City International program.
As the relationship progresses, organizers hope to get a student exchange program started, share ideas on conservation and bio-diversity, develop tourism events and promote regional agricultural, arts and crafts, and a better understand and tolerance of religious beliefs, Mulligan said. (The vast majority of citizens in Turkey follow the faith of Islam.)
In May, a group of Morgan Hill residents, including Mulligan and Councilwoman Marilyn Librers, traveled to Seferihisar on a goodwill visit to represent Morgan Hill in the relationship with the Turkish city. Other Morgan Hill residents who went include Victoria Escuton, Nuzhat Alavi, Dennis Kennedy, Jill Kirk, Einer Anderson and Karen Anderson.
“Being a Sister city with Morgan Hill is very important us,” Soyer said in an online interview. “We believe that our people can learn a lot from each other. We are planning to do this by organizing joint festivals, tours, and mutual exchanges of students and citizens. We think both towns have a lot to offer each other.”
Librers, the City Council liaison with the Morgan Hill Sister City program, believes that fostering an international perspective in Morgan Hill residents by promoting bridge-building with citizens of Seferihisar will provide cultural benefits for everyone.
“We brought gifts from Morgan Hill and they presented us with gifts from their city,” she said. “There were formal meetings with the mayor and their council to talk about the differences and also the similarities between our two cities … The purpose of City Sister International is to promote peace, cultural understanding through the world. It is my hope people from Seferihisar will visit Morgan Hill in the near future.”
Like Librers, Mulligan is hopeful that a positive experience will come from an exchange of cultures between the two communities.
If people from Seferihisar organize trips to Morgan Hill in the coming years, he would recommend they visit the Aquatic Center, the Outdoor Sports Center, the Community and Cultural Center, the Centennial Recreation Center, and the public library.
“Morgan Hill has a varied culinary menu, so I would like them to visit as many of our restaurant venues as possible,” Mulligan said. “Even more interesting would be an outdoor barbecue … and of course I will host an afternoon in Ireland at my home,” he added with a wink.
