Tourism is quiet, politics is loud in Antalya

The situation in Turkey's Mediterranean province of Antalya is that its tourism is quiet, but its politics is vivid and loud. 

When talking about politics, the activity is only at the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) front. Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, amid his busy schedule, manages to visit his constituency every weekend and participates in various activities as though he is preparing for elections. 

Last weekend, he visited Sümer Ezgü, who founded an art academy in Antalya after he settled in the resort town a while ago, and told him how much he liked his mother's folk songs. 

Çavuşoğlu also opened the MATSO Tourism Department at Antalya's Akdeniz University in the Manavgat district, funded by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Local journalists wrote that this was a historic day for Manavgat. 

He expressed his support to Deniz Baykal, the former leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), and agreed with Baykal's self-criticism toward his party on how it was supporting sectarianism, discrimination and especially terrorism. 

Çavuşoğlu also attended a reward ceremony organized by the Antalya Journalists Association. He visited the family of a deceased party member. He generally tries not to miss any football matches in Alanya and Antalya. He manages a busy schedule. 

The AKP's staff, together with the Antalya Municipality and the city's mayor, Menderes Türel, along with deputies representing Antalya, are working intensely, as though there will be elections in the spring. 

The CHP's provincial organization? They are nowhere to be seen. They don't even wonder why they lost certain city council seats to the AKP. What else is left? 

Çetin Osman Budak, a deputy...