On Aug. 3, the intrepid travelers stopped in İstanbul and held an informational seminar on their journey. Presenting details of the journey, Matteo Guidolin, the president of Ostrega, the cultural institution that organized the trip, said the aim of the Ostrega! in Tour journey is to become a “traveling exhibition of Veneto across Asia: by exporting its historical and cultural peculiarities as well as its achievements in the field of arts, tourism, gastronomic delicacies and, in broader terms, the story of its success.” Adding that İstanbul is one of the five major cities that tour participants think are the most important, Guidolin said the project consists of traveling by bus, starting in Venice, going across Asia and ending in Beijing, throughout August.
The journey is a 30-day trip inspired by the most renowned Venetian of all time, Marco Polo. The group plans to travel along the same route as Marco Polo, the Silk Road, reliving his adventures, which eventually took him to the court of Kublai Khan, the Chinese emperor. As Marco Polo once helped Venetians learn about the way of life and customs of Central Asia and China, so will Ostrega! in Tour participants show Veneto's culture, traditions and products to China and Central Asian countries.
Presenters also informed the audience that ostrega, meaning “oyster” in the Venetian dialect, is a typical oral exclamation expressing a feeling of surprise. Ostrega itself is a recently founded cultural association that aims to preserve and spread the identity, history and traditions of the Veneto region. Participants will travel through the cities of Venice; Belgrade; İstanbul, Sivas and Ağrı in Turkey; Tabriz, Tehran and Mashhad in Iran; Mary in Turkmenistan; Bukhara and Samarkand in Uzbekistan; Taraz and Almaty in Kazakhstan; and Yining, Urumqi, Dunhuang, Zhangye, Xi'an, Luoyang, Shijiazhuang and Beijing in China. Sponsors of the project are primarily production companies based in Italy.
Now on his ninth visit to İstanbul, Guidolin told Today's Zaman, “İstanbul, with its beauties of historical background, is my most favorite city outside Italy.” He also added that after staying in İstanbul for two days, they will continue their journey and head to Sivas.
At the end of their informational seminar, organizers distributed “Veneto Bags,” which contained brochures, flyers and other promotional materials featuring the Veneto region and the sponsoring companies.
