‘TurkAegean’ tourism campaign draws angry response from Athens

The ancient Greek city of Ephesus is promoted in the campaign, alongside idyllic beaches and blue seas. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

A Turkish effort to lure tourists with a “TurkAegean” promotional campaign – against a backdrop of historic Greek sites and the sound of the bouzouki – has elicited anger and embarrassment in Athens.

With its western shores that straddle the Aegean, Turkey says the time has come to stop associating the region exclusively with Greece. Last December, it lodged a request with the EU’s intellectual property office to trademark the term TurkAegean.