May 11, 2015, Honolulu, HI – West America Turkic Council organized a Turkic – American Friendship Reception in Hawaii. The reception took place at the State Capitol and was attended by state senators, legislators and their staff. The event focused on the state of relations between Hawaii and Turkey.
The President of the Hawaii Senate, Ronald Kouchi expressed his pleasure in seeing friendships being built between Hawaii and Turkey.Lieutenant Governor Shan Tsutsui, in turn, expressed his gratitude to the West American Turkic Council for its efforts to improve relations between the Aloha State and Turkey.
During the event, Melik Sayin, an artist from Turkey, swept the guests off their feet with his hat (hat is a traditional anatolian string instrument) performance, while other guest formed long queues to get their names calligraphed. State Representative Tom Brower, whose love of coffee is well known in Hawaii, demonstrated the brewing process of Turkish coffee and offered some to the guests. Representative Brower talked about the customs associated with offering coffee, as well as significance of this drink in Turkish culture, which he learned about on his trip to Turkey. He noted that once he tried Turkish coffee in Turkey, he enjoyed it so much that he brought back bags and bags of it with him.
In addition to politicians, State Capitol staff and WATC personnel, the event was also attended by several Turkic-American business owners.
