Seferihisar, a small town on the Aegean coast in western Turkey, was named the country’s first cittaslow in November, becoming the 121st slow city worldwide.Speaking to reporters on Friday, Kaş Tourism and Promotion Association Chairman Mustafa Eriş said the town is a perfect candidate to become a slow city, with a unique identity that the town wants to protect in the face of negativities brought by globalization and with its self-sufficient economy. Noting that Kaş is one of Turkey’s most unique towns, Eriş said the town owes this to its historical, natural and cultural riches.
Eriş said Kaş will be a model cittaslow for the world. “In three or four years, the cittaslow flag will wave in Kaş, too, if the municipality, civil society organizations and civilian administrators work toward this purpose. Rebuilding Kaş’s future identity by helping its rooted past survive is the most important step for the town to take. Let us take this step together and build Kaş’s future hand in hand,” he said, adding that they have sent necessary letters to the municipal authorities and they expect suggestions from Kaş volunteers.
Cittaslow is a movement founded in Italy in October 1999. The inspiration for cittaslow was the Slow Food organization, which moves against fast-food culture. The cittaslow organization defines itself as a growing international network of over 120 towns in 18 countries across the world that have adopted a set of common goals and principles to enhance the quality of life for residents and visitors. In simple terms, cittaslow towns aim to be great places to live, work and visit. They aim to support local businesses, foster local traditions, protect the environment, welcome visitors and encourage active participation in community life.
Each cittaslow town commits to working towards a set of over 50 goals and principles that aim to improve its quality of life. These goals and principles provide tangible benchmarks against which a town can measure its progress and act as a mechanism to bring local people from all walks of life together to work collectively for the good of their town.
