The Republic of Turkey celebrates an important occasion on April 23: the 85th anniversary of the opening of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, or Parliament. When the Assembly began its deliberations back in 1920, the Ottoman Empire was still in existence, and an Ottoman parliament was meeting in Istanbul. But while this Ottoman parliament, dependent on the Sultan, was soon to disappear, the parliament in Ankara, based on the sovereignty of the people, was to survive and celebrate many anniversaries.

Professor Özer OZANKAYA, a regular contributor to Diplomat ever since its first edition, dwells in his Human Angle column this month on the concept of national sovereignty.

Our guests from the diplomatic and international communities, meanwhile, are Constantin GRIGORIE, the Ambassador of Romania to Ankara, and Marielle Sander LINDSTRÖM, Chief of Mission of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Ambassador GRIGORIE speaks of the position of his country, which is now on the verge of European Union membership, and emphasises the importance which Romania places on relations with Turkey. IOM Mission Chief LINDSTRÖM informs our readers about the activities of her organisation – activities which are not often publicised as one hot news story follows another, but the importance of which for humanity are difficult to underestimate.

This issue of Diplomat also takes us to South Africa. It is a striking country where modern cities and fascinating natural resources go hand in hand – a country which has something for every tourist no matter how unconventional or narrow his or her field of interest may be. We are grateful to the Embassy of South Africa in Ankara for its assistance in making materials available for use in compiling this report.

For those with northern hemisphere summer holidays on their minds, we also travel to an alternative Turkish Mediterranean tourism destination, introducing readers to some of the attractive and curious places that can be visited along the coast of the province of Mersin.

Our arts pages feature another Ankara artist, Hatice Kumbaracı Gürsöz. Kumbaracı Gürsöz is no stranger to the world of diplomats. Married to a Turkish ambassador, she has opened exhibitions in every country to which she and her husband have been posted. She is now living and working as energetically as ever in the Turkish capital.

Happiness smells of chocolate, they say, and one of the best places to find it in Ankara is Patiswiss. More details can be found in the following. Gourmets, meanwhile, may enjoy our feature on Budakaltı Restaurant.

Bon appetit!

Kaya Dorsan

Publisher and editor-in-chief