Turkish automobile association
Encyclopedia
The Touring and Automobile Club of Turkey (TTOK), also known as Turkish Automobile Association, is an amateur and international organization dedicated to tourism and the automobile sector. It was founded in 1923 at the behest of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....

 by a group of intellectuals led by Reşit Saffet Atabinen, a diplomat at the time and a historian. The club is a member of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...

 (FIA) and Alliance Internationale de Tourisme
Alliance Internationale de Tourisme
Alliance Internationale de Tourisme is an international federation of motoring organisations created to "represent the interests of national automobile associations and touring clubs"...

 (AIT).

History

The association was established right after the proclamation of the Republic as "Turkish Travel Association" . It was renamed later to "Touring Club Turc" . In 1930, the association received the legal status of a non-profit organization, and gained rights with regard to customs and traffic laws.

The club, working for many years in the beginning as a governmental agency, served in the fields of tourism, culture and technical issues. Highly needed materials for tourism such as prospectuses, posters, tourist guides and road maps in the early period of the newly founded republic were prepared and published by the association. Furthermore, it established and organized the first language courses, tourist guide exams, tourism congresses and conferences.

The association, located in an office at Galata
Galata
Galata or Galatae is a neighbourhood in the Beyoğlu district on the European side of Istanbul, the largest city of Turkey. Galata is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn, the inlet which separates it from the historic peninsula of old Constantinople. The Golden Horn is crossed by...

, Istanbul with two rooms only and with two employees, had the assistance of a small number of volunteers with wide travelling experience. Despite its limited personal and financial resources, it achieved remarkable success.

An important event in the history of the club was the hosting of a meeting of the International Touring Alliance (AIT), the club became a member of shortly. For this purpose, Atatürk ordered the formally opening of Dolmabahçe Palace
Dolmabahçe Palace
Dolmabahçe Palace located in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European coastline of the Bosphorus strait, served as the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1856 to 1922, apart from a 22-year interval in which Yıldız Palace was used.- History :Dolmabahçe Palace...

 to public for the first time since the abolition of the Ottoman Sultanate
Abolition of the Ottoman Sultanate
On November 1, 1922, the Ottoman Sultanate was abolished by the Turkish Grand National Assembly and Sultan Mehmed VI departed the country. This allowed the Turkish nationalist government in Ankara to become the sole governing entity in the nation....

. He announced to the Istanbul press that the Touring Club Association will be under his personal protection.

In order to keep up with increasing requirements following the economic developments at home and abroad during the 1950s, the association moved its office to another places and expanded its workforce step by step.

In 1971, the club signed an agreement with the Ministry of Customs and Finance to charge commission for temporary import license at the border that was granted to abroad living Turkish people, who came to Turkey by car. This fee was fifty percent less than that was charged by the European associations. This income secured the club's financial source for projected activities.

Following the signing of an agreement with the Municipality of Istanbul in 1979, the club started, under the leadership of Çelik Gülersoy
Çelik Gülersoy
Çelik Gülersoy was a Turkish lawyer, historical preservationist, writer and poet. He is best remembered for the heritage conservation works he carried out on historical sites during his long-time post as director general of the Touring and Automobile Club of Turkey .He was born in Hakkâri, the...

, a comprehensive cultural and touristic restoration project. Many historical buildings and palace parks were renovated and opened to public use as recreational venues, among them Chora Church
Chora Church
The Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora is considered to be one of the most beautiful examples of a Byzantine church. The church is situated in Istanbul, in the Edirnekapı neighborhood, which lies in the western part of the municipality of Fatih...

 environs (1977), Çamlıca Hill (1980), Malta and Çadır pavilions within Yıldız Park
Yildiz Park
Yıldız Park is a historical, urban park in Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey. It is one of the largest public parks in Istanbul. The park is located in Yıldız quarter between the palaces of Yıldız and Çırağan.-History:...

 (1982), Yellow, Pink and White pavilions within Emirgan Park
Emirgan Park
The Emirgan Park is a historical urban park located in Emirgan neighborhood at the Bosphorus in Sarıyer district of Istanbul, Turkey. It is one of the largest public parks in Istanbul.- History :...

 (1979-1983), Hotel Yeşil Ev
Hotel Yesil Ev
The Hotel Yeşil Ev is a historic wooden mansion, located in the Sultanahmet neighborhood of Istanbul, Turkey, which is used as a hotel after restoration...

 (1984), Khedive Palace
Khedive Palace
The Khedive Palace or Çubuklu Palace, Çubuklu Summer Palace, ; Hidiv Mansion; located on the Asian side of the Bosporus in Istanbul, Turkey, was a former residence of Khedive Abbas II of Egypt and Sudan...

 (1984) and Soğukçeşme Street
Sogukçesme Sokagi
Soğukçeşme Sokağı is a small street with historic houses in the Sultanahmet neighborhood of Istanbul, Turkey, sandwiched in-between the Hagia Sophia and Topkapı Palace...

  (1985-1986)

The obligation to take a temporary import document from customs was lifted in 1990 resulting in a great income loss for the club. Finally in 1994, another source of its finance diminished as the administration of historical recreational venues ended when the city's municipality concluded not to renew the lease contract regarding the parks and pavillions in them. The club tried to overcome the financial difficulties by selling its properties one by one it owned from 1974 on.

International documents provided

The Touring and Automobile Club of Turkey is authorized to provide following documents, which are recognized internationally:
  • Temporary entrance card from customs
  • International driving license
    International Driving Permit
    An International Driving Permit allows an individual to drive a private motor vehicle in another nation when accompanied by a valid license from their home country. The document is slightly larger than a standard passport and is essentially a multiple language translation of one's own existing...

  • International vehicle document
  • International traffic insurance (Green card)
  • Temporary entrance card for foreign vehicles (Blue card)

Notable people

Following persons played a major role in the history of the club. Figures enclosed in parenthesis are service years:
  • Reşit Saffet Atabinen, founder and president (1923-1965)
  • Said N.Duhani, manager (1950s-1966)
  • Çelik Gülersoy
    Çelik Gülersoy
    Çelik Gülersoy was a Turkish lawyer, historical preservationist, writer and poet. He is best remembered for the heritage conservation works he carried out on historical sites during his long-time post as director general of the Touring and Automobile Club of Turkey .He was born in Hakkâri, the...

    , clerk (1947-1957), assistant manager (1957-1961), legal consultant (1961-1965), general manager (1965-2003)
  • Dr. Uğur İbrahimhakkıoğlu, vice president ( -2006), president (2006-present)
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