Austin and Antalya, Turkey, to become sister cities. The city on Turkey's Mediterranean coast resembles Austin in size, geography, education and industry.

Austin Area Officials Visit Antayla, Turkey Sister City

Sister City (Austin American-Statesman article for Sunday - October 12, 2008)

By Cheryl Coggins Frink

Special to the Austin American-Statesman

Although Austin has been rich in sister cities - there are currently 10 cities with that formal designation - none of the sisters has a predominantly Muslim population. After Sept. 11, 2001, Mayor Will Wynn began what became a long-term quest to change that situation. His inspiration stemmed from a number of factors. Austin had become more international, and the city's Muslim community was growing. But most central was the fact that in the first terrible days after the tragedy of 9/11, Wynn watched as many Austin groups and individuals, in particular members of Austin Area Interreligious Ministries, eased tensions as they reached out to encourage compassion and religious tolerance. So when the Institute of Interfaith Dialog invited Wynn to travel to Turkey in August 2006, he decided he would use the opportunity to work on that sister city goal. He asked trip organizers if he could focus on presenting the idea to the mayor of Antalya, a city on Turkey's Mediterranean coast that resembles Austin in size, geography, education and industry.

"I had been there 12 years earlier, but so much had changed by the time I went back in 2006," the mayor says of his trip with the Institute of Interfaith Dialog, an organization created to foster compassion and respect between different religious and cultural communities. "Yet when I got there, I was more convinced than ever that Antalya would make a great sister city," says Wynn. "It is a fabulous city with a really high quality of life, the provincial capital, a big visitor destination, a university town and a city with a beautiful natural environment. They even have an internationally renowned film festival. "A river runs through the middle of town," he adds, "and cascades down a cliff into the Mediterranean Sea. There are remarkable similarities with Austin."

The idea of teaming with Austin through Sister Cities International was well-received by Antalya city officials. And in February, the Austin City Council approved a resolution establishing a sister city relationship. As soon as the international organization gives the formal OK, Antalya will become Austin's 11th sister city.

The sister city agreement - based on protocol established by the international sister city organization - encourages business, cultural and academic exchanges between participating cities. At the core of the arrangement, however, is the idea that lasting peace depends on communication among the people of the world. "It (the sister cities program) was founded more than 50 years ago by President Eisenhower ... with the idea that the best way to secure long-term peace is to give ordinary citizens the opportunity for dialogue," says Wynn.

With that ultimate goal in mind, and the hope for building business, cultural and academic exchange, Wynn expects the agreement with Antalya to be one of Austin's more successful sister city arrangements. "Once more Austinites discover Antalya, there will be a flood of folks going back and forth," says the mayor.

Cheryl Coggins Frink is an Austin freelance writer.