After the inauguration of Erdoğan Erken as Honorary Consul of Hungary in Tekirdağ, cultural relations between Hungary and Turkey were constantly growing, thus the Association for Turkish-Hungarian Friendship in Tekirdağ was formed on 13th March 2002 by those who were interested. After the forming of the association, Tekirdağ established a number of sister city connections, making regular exchange trips to these cities. Additionally, a Hungarian Day was introduced at the annual Tekirdağ Cherry Festival. The founders of the association are Erdoğan Erken, Naim Örü, Güneş Görseler, Zeki Varan, İbrahim Kadri Atakişi, and Ali Kabul.