Civic members from Darlington and Beykoz, Turkey were invited to celebrate the respective 65th and 10th anniversaries of twinning with Muelhaim, On Tuesday 19th June we visited the Town Hall andwere able to see great panoramic views of the Ruhr Valley from the Tower. We then met the delegation from Beykoz and had a guided tour of the City. Wednesday by coach we visited Duisburg Inner Harbour, the biggest inland port in Europe. This was followed by a visit to Zollverein coking plant and then on to Villa Huegel, former home of the Krupp family now entrusted to the State. The evening was spent at the open air concert place, "Freilichbuehne" with a musical performance by the Canadian guitarist and singer Don Ross. Thursday we had a boat trip to the beautiful village of Kettwig and in the evening attended an official reception at Franky's Wasserbahnhof. After official speeches and signing of Muelheim's "Golden Book", we signed an official Re-Affirmation of Agreement of Friendship and Co-operation between our towns which will hopefully bind us together through these uncertain times in Europe. Friday morning we said our goodbyes before leaving for home.
Participants;
Darlington; Mayor Veronica Copeland Mayor's Escort David Copeland Chair of DTTIA Tom Nutt
Muelheim; Oberburgermeister Ulrich Scholten Burgermeister Margarete Wietelmann Burgermeister Ursula Schroeder Dr Claudia Roos Dr Gerhard Ribbrock Hans-Dieter Flohr Manfred Krister Karl and Ingeborg Schaefer Rosemarie Scholtz Friedhelm Baguette Joachim Schiwy Sabine Kuzma Robert Stevenson Alison Arriotti Jan Vogelsang Udo Scharmann
Turkey; Ms Seher Cekerek - Chief of Protocol Ms Meral Ocak - Head of Health Services Goekalp Buerluekkara - Interpreter
Report by Tom Nutt