Türkiye's biggest aerospace and technology festival, Teknofest, has just closed its latest edition in Şanlıurfa, the southeastern city better known to travellers for ancient sites than drone displays. The 2026 run finished on Sunday, and it picked up an unexpected diplomatic fan along the way: Jennifer Elizabeth Anderson, the new British ambassador to Ankara, who only took up her post last month.
Anderson posted a video on X wearing the festival's instantly recognisable red jacket and called the visit a chance to see "the creativity and innovative capabilities of Türkiye's young engineers and scientists." She also described Şanlıurfa as one of her favourite cities and said she hopes to return to both the city and the festival in the coming years — hence keeping the jacket. She thanked Selçuk Bayraktar, chair of the T3 Foundation and the Teknofest board, Haluk Bayraktar of SAHA Istanbul Defence & Aerospace Cluster, and Elvan Kuzucu Hıdır of the T3 Foundation.
So what is Teknofest, and why should a holidaymaker care? It's a free, hugely popular festival that mixes air shows, drone and rocket competitions, robotics displays and tech exhibitions, drawing millions of visitors each year and rotating between Turkish cities — Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Adana among past hosts. Think of it as part air show, part science fair, part national celebration, with families queueing alongside students. For 2026 the host was Şanlıurfa, a deliberate pick that puts a major event in a city most tourists only pass through.
That's the real travel hook. Şanlıurfa — often just called Urfa — is one of southeastern Türkiye's most rewarding stops. It's the claimed birthplace of Abraham, with the atmospheric Balıklıgöl fish pools at its heart, a labyrinthine bazaar, and Göbeklitepe, the 12,000-year-old temple complex that rewrote the history of civilisation, sitting just outside town. Teknofest gave the city a burst of international attention it rarely gets; even a diplomat fresh off the plane called it a highlight.
The ambassador's comments also hinted at the bigger picture: growing UK-Türkiye cooperation in technology, which means future editions of the festival are likely to keep drawing foreign delegations, exhibitors and media. If you're plotting a Türkiye trip around a big event, checking where and when Teknofest lands each autumn is worth a moment — entry is typically free, crowds are enormous, and it pairs surprisingly well with the region's archaeological heavyweights.
Who is this for? Event-seekers who like their festivals with a bit of spectacle, families travelling in Türkiye in early autumn, and anyone who's had Göbeklitepe on the wishlist and wants an excuse to finally book. Just don't expect a quiet visit — Teknofest crowds are famously enthusiastic.
