A four-language sign near the entrance to Tuzluca (Koghb) town of Turkey’s Igdir province welcomes all the guests to the town. Mehmet Gültekin, Mayor of Tuzluca and Kurdistan Democratic Party member, said that the phrase “Welcome” was written on the sign in Armenian, since the town borders with Armenia, and used to be resided by Armenians who called it Koghb.

The Mayor stressed that although many placenames were renamed, people continue to call them by their Armenian names. “Before the establishment of the Turkish Republic, Tuzluca had been an Armenian-populated area. An Armenian cemetery has been preserved, which is called Armenian cemetery among people. Armenians lived here; they created this region and wrote history. We treated all this with respect and wrote “Welcome” in Armenian. We don’t feel uncomfortable writing in Armenian. Conversely, we are very happy. We’ll again make friends with Armenia, trade together and develop tourism. Armenians are our brothers and nothing will hinder our plans,” Gültekin said.   

Armenian News – NEWS.am camera captured the inscription in Armenian right the second day after its installment.