ATHENS – Celestyal, the award-winning top choice for travelers to the Greek Islands and the Eastern Mediterranean, has partnered with the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), a Turkish government entity established to coordinate post-disaster response and promote cooperation among various government agencies. The goal of this partnership is to provide blankets and sleeping bags to some of the more than one million residents of Turkey who remain homeless following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake and subsequent aftershocks that took place one month ago in southern Turkey and northern Syria.

The earthquake resulted in more than 50,000 deaths, caused widespread destruction, and left many without shelter and basic supplies. The blankets and sleeping bags were transported onboard the Celestyal Crystal on its first voyage of the season calling upon Kusadasi, Turkey. Additionally, Celestyal will donate a % of revenues from shore excursions in Turkey to the relief effort. Celestyal is one of the few cruise lines to regularly call on Turkey.

“Celestyal has been bringing our guests to visit the city of Kusadasi and the magnificent ruins of nearby Ephesus for many years. As a result, we have a strong bond with Turkey and its people, and we were devastated when news broke of the horrific earthquake only a month ago,” said Chris Theophilides, CEO. “A strong part of Celestyal’s values is to be responsible corporate citizens of the places we visit and to support the people who call these places home. The least we could do is to lend a helping hand to our Turkish friends in need. We can only hope that our donation of supplies will contribute to the humanitarian effort that is desperately needed in this part of the world.”