Turkey to participate in this year's Earth Hour campaign

Istanbul's landmark historical buildings like Galata Tower, Hagia Sophia and Clock Tower at Dolmabahce Palace turned off their lights. Turkey is set to take part in this year's Earth Hour, a campaign organized by the World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) in a bid to raise awareness about global warming and other environmental issues. The campaign, which the WWF says is the biggest environmental movement of the globe, will see lights switched off for an hour on March 23 around the world. WWF Turkey said in a statement that the two bridges that stretches over the Istanbul Strait were the symbols of the Turkish leg of the campaign last year, which took place in more than 150 countries with the participation of nearly 2 billion people. Istanbul's landmark historical buildings like the Galata Tower, Hagia Sophia and the Clock Tower at the Dolmabahce Palace turned off their lights. "The Earth Hour is just 'an hour' that seeks for solutions, change and coordinates efforts to take concrete steps. However, we need far-reaching solutions, the effects of which extends beyond an hour. Governments, institutions and above all individuals are the indispensable pieces of the domino. Everybody should be part of the solution to reverse the worsening situation," said Ugur Bayar, board chairman of the WWF Turkey.