13 students studying at the Turkology Department established with the contributions of Yunus Emre Institute (YEI) under the Lebanese University, the only public university in Lebanon, in 2017 successfully completed their 3-year education. Diplomas were presented to the students during the graduation ceremony organized on December 22, 2020.

Established in the Lebanese University in 2017 with the support of Yunus Emre Institute, the Turkology Department graduated its first alumni. Diplomas were presented to 13 students during the diploma ceremony held in Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon.

Turkey's Ambassador to Beirut Hakan Çakıl, Dean of the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences at the Lebanese University Prof. Ahmed Rabah, Turkish Education Director at YEI Prof. Yavuz Kartallıoğlu, Beirut Office Coordinator of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) Orhan Aydın, Beirut Office Director of Turkish Airlines (THY) Hasan Hamdan and the families and instructors of students attended the graduation ceremony held with limited participation due to the new type coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic measures.

Delivering a speech during the graduation ceremony starting with the national anthems of Turkey and Lebanon, Ambassador Çakıl pointed that Turkey and Lebanon were two friendly and sister countries sharing common values and stated that the Turkology Department bridged a large gap for the people of the two countries to understand and get to know each other better.

Reminding that the visas were lifted between Lebanon and Turkey in 2010, Ambassador Çakıl drew attention to the fact that Turkish series were followed by lots of viewers in Lebanon, increasing the interest in Turkish language as a result.

THEY WILL ACT AS A BRIDGE BETWEEN TURKEY AND LEBANON

Ambassador Çakıl underlined that he was very proud of the fact that Turkish language as well as Turkish history and other issues associated with Turkey were covered by the Turkology Department.

Stressing that they were proud of the first graduates from the Turkology Department, Dean of the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences at the Lebanese University Rabah said that the graduates of this department would act as a bridge between the two countries. Dean Rabah also mentioned that the education of the Turkology Department contributed to the more effective and productive development of the education bridge between the two countries.

"WE HAVE DIFFICULTY IN FINDING LECTURERS TO EMPLOY IN THE DEPARTMENT"

Pointing to the fact that they had difficulty in finding lecturers to employ in the department, Rabah expressed his wish to recruit at the Turkology Department of the Lebanese University the 13 graduates fluently speaking Turkish after completing their master's and PhD education in Turkey.

Following the presentation of diplomas as well as the return tickets to Turkey offered by THY and some other gifts, the graduation ceremony came to an end with the group photo.

Continuing to perform its activities at the Lebanese University, the only public university of the country, with the support of YEI, the Turkology Department currently has more than 40 students.