Foreign signs have taken over everywhere in Alanya! The municipality is taking action
Abdurrahman Açıkalın, explaining the regulations about foreign signs in Alanya, stated that the signs will be made according to the conditions set by the municipality.
The issue of sign pollution, which has caused reactions from citizens for years, is finally coming to an end. Especially after the Russia-Ukraine war, foreign signs that spread rapidly in Alanya are now being rearranged in a way that will be understandable to both foreigners and locals.
Abdurrahman Açıkalın, the President of the Alanya Municipality Urban Aesthetics Committee and the Mayor’s Advisor, made statements about the decisions made by the Alanya Municipality Urban Aesthetics Committee. He said that the regulations will be implemented while preserving the dynamics of Alanya.
PERMISSION WILL BE REQUIRED FOR EVERYTHING FROM A TO Z
Speaking about the regulations that have been made and are in force, Açıkalın stated: “We worked on awnings for two weeks. There was a pilot project in Antalya. We looked at how we could apply it to Alanya by using this project as an example and sent it to the Planning Commission. They also examined the issue according to their norms and values. In the last Council meeting, this decision was passed unanimously. When necessary, we provide information to both the Mayor and the Council members. The Mayor had previously asked us to conduct a pilot study on signs. We quickly completed this work. To minimize sign pollution, we prepared a 3D presentation. The main problem here arose from businesses that were granted building amnesty in the past. The second issue is the use of upper floors of stores without permission. As a result of the decisions we have made, all kinds of renovations will now require permission from the municipality.”
THE TURKISH LANGUAGE WILL BE A PRIORITY
Açıkalın also made important statements about foreign sign pollution in Alanya. He announced that joint work would be done with the New Alanyans Council and said: “In March, the new President, Vice President, and sub-committees of the New Alanyans Council will be elected. There are 45 thousand foreigners living in Alanya from 130 countries. But this does not mean that everything will be according to them. We are working together to create common living and synthesis. This is very important for us. We will probably establish family relations with them in the short term.
Some countries have created their own communities. They have barbershops, hair salons, and bakeries. These need to be controlled as well. One of the main reasons we see foreign signs everywhere is that they were not controlled or regulated before. The Mayor is also very sensitive about this issue. We have preliminary work on what the names on the signs should be.
However, we will work on this after the New Alanyans Council is formed. One of our first actions was that in May, during the Tourism Festival we organized, we wrote 'Municipality of Alanya' on the tents in four different languages. Our message here is: 'We live together in Alanya and are not under the dominance of one language or culture.' Of course, we open our doors to foreigners and build a common life with them. However, our priority language here is Turkish.”
