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Turkish president on Sunday opened a photo exhibition featuring the works of renowned Turkish-Armenian photographer Ara Guler at 800-year-old Tofukuji temple in Kyoto, Japan, Anadolu Agency reported.

“God willing, we will organize more events that will further boost the ancient friendship of the people of Turkey and Japan throughout the year,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, urging both communities to benefit from one another’s historical, cultural and social perspectives.

Erdogan arrived at Osaka city of Japan to hold official talks in line with G20 Leaders’ Summit on Thursday, then he moved to Kyoto where he visited an Ottoman-themed exhibition center and opened Ara Guler exhibit.

In Japan, 2019 is celebrated as Year of Turkish Culture and Turkey has dispatched ancient Ottoman-themed artifacts to be exhibited in a display titled “Treasures and Tradition of Tulip in Ottoman Empire”, which has drawn more than 170,000 visitors so far.

Following successful runs in London and Paris, Guler's works will be exhibited in Japan from June 30 to July 10.

Curated by the Turkish presidency, the exhibit includes Guler’s iconic photos and portraits of legendary Turkish writer Yasar Kemal and famous folk musician and poet Asik Veysel, as well as international figures such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Indira Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Brigitte Bardot, and Sophia Loren.

After Japan, the exhibit will proceed to the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City at the end of September, coinciding with the UN General Assembly.

Another exhibition of the great photographer’s works is set to open at the Turkish Embassy in Italy, Rome in January 2020.

Guler, nicknamed the “Eye of Istanbul,” passed away at a hospital in the Turkish capital in October 2018 after attempts to revive him failed. For years he had suffered from kidney failure and underwent dialysis three times a week.