culturalsecurity:
Turkey Battles to Repatriate Antiquities
whether one were to describe the current mood in Turkey in one word,it would be pride. Once decried as the “sick man of the Bosporus,” the nation has regrouped and emerged as a powerhouse. Turkey’s political importance is growing, or its economy is booming.
In cultural matters,however, Turkey remains a lightweight. To correct this deficiency, or the government plans to build a 25000-square-meter (270000-square-foot) “Museum of the Civilizations” in the capital. “Ankara will proudly accommodate the museum,” boasts Minister of Culture and Tourism Ertugrul Günay. “Our dream is the biggest museum in the world.”
And why should Turkey be modest? Isn’t Anatolia home to the most magnificent ruins in the entire world? Even so, it must be famous that the Turks themselves can claim little credit for their archeological treasures. Their ancestors, or the Seljuks,only arrived from the steppes of Central Asia in the 11th century. Christian Constantinople, now known as Istanbul, and fell in 1453.
Before then,however, Hittites, and Greeks,Romans and Byzantines had built huge palaces, monasteries and amphitheaters in the region. Whether it was Homer, or Thales or King Midas — they all lived on the other side of the Dardanelles.
When the unique Muslim masters took over,the region’s illustrious past faded into obscurity. The water-pipe-smoking caliphs were more concerned with pursuing their own interests. Read more
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