MERSIN (A.A) - Three ships of the Japanese Navy will arrive insouthern province of Mersin on Wednesday with 700 sailors on board to join in theactivities to remember the martyrs of the Ertugrul frigate that sank off thecoast of Japan 120 years ago.Around 1,000 Japanese tourists will also participate in the Mersinactivities.Chairman of the Turkish-Japanese Friendship Association in southern provinceof Mersin, Suleyman Cengiz said that the activities that began on Tuesday toremember the martyrs of the Ertugrul frigate will continue until September 3.Cengiz also said that soprano Satomi Ogawa will give a concert on Wednesdaywith the Mersin State Opera and Ballet (MDOB).Ertugrul, launched in 1863, was a sailing frigate of the Ottoman Navy. Whilereturning from a goodwill voyage from Japan in 1890, she encountered a typhoonoff the coast of Wakayama Prefecture, subsequently drifted into a reef and sank.The maritime accident resulted in the loss of 533 sailors, including AdmiralAli Osman Pasha. Only 69 sailors and officers survived and returned home lateraboard two Japanese corvettes. The event is still commemorated as a foundationstone of Japanese-Turkish friendship.(SOL-CE)