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TEKNOFEST Southeast brought together Sanliurfa’s ancient heritage and Türkiye’s modern technology drive, as visitors moved from an immersive Gobeklitepe experience to displays of domestically produced aircraft and drones.
The aviation, space and technology festival entered its second day on Thursday at Sanliurfa GAP Airport with aerial demonstrations, science workshops, exhibitions and activities aimed particularly at younger visitors.
Organized under the leadership of Türkiye’s Industry and Technology Ministry and the Turkish Technology Team Foundation, known as the T3 Foundation, the event also involves defense company STM, while Anadolu is serving as its global communications partner.
One of the festival’s most distinctive attractions is the Gobeklitepe Experience Area, where visitors are taken across roughly 12,000 years of history in a three-minute presentation.
Using 360-degree screens and a replica standing stone, the installation explores the question of where technological development began, bringing together ancient civilizations and Türkiye’s contemporary technological progress.
Coordinator Alper Aslan said the presentation moves from the past toward the future while tracing the development of defense technologies.
“We have a screen extending from the past into the future, with one of the TEKNOFEST aircraft at its center,” Aslan said. “We begin in the past and explain the development of defense technologies up to the present.”
Visitor Elanur Yasar said the installation offered a different way of looking at Gobeklitepe by combining its historical setting with technology and civilization.
Outside the experience area, children from Sanliurfa and nearby provinces gathered around domestically produced aircraft including the Kizilelma unmanned fighter jet, KAAN combat aircraft and Akinci drone.
For some visitors, the festival provided their first opportunity to see aircraft at close range.
Young visitor Amine Abdulvahab said she was excited to see an aircraft up close for the first time and hoped she might one day work in a similar field.
Other children also said seeing aircraft both on the ground and in flight had strengthened their interest in aviation.
Japanese Ambassador to Türkiye Masami Tamura, who toured the festival grounds, praised Türkiye’s progress in defense technology as well as TEKNOFEST’s role in introducing children to science and technology.
“I find Türkiye’s advances in defense technologies very impressive. I am also greatly surprised by such an excellent event,” Tamura told Anadolu.
He added that Japan does not host a comparable event on the same scale and said encouraging children to engage with science and defense technologies through interactive activities was particularly valuable.
“Türkiye and Japan’s cooperation is also important for world peace,” he said. “Japanese people love Türkiye, and I particularly want to emphasize that here.”
Thursday’s program also includes another Turkish Stars aerobatic team performance, along with displays featuring Atak helicopters, Hurkus, Cezeri, Anka, Bayraktar TB2 and TB3 drones and Akinci.
Visitors can also take part in simulators, planetarium activities, science shows and educational workshops while exploring national air, land and maritime vehicles.
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