Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Batuhan Mumcu, in his speech at the ceremony, said that the Middle Chalcolithic period marble Kilia type idol, dating back to 4500 BC, was one of the works launched by Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy last year.
Stating that the ministry is carrying out its anti-smuggling efforts together with the smuggling prosecutor in the US, Mumcu noted the following:
“We will all unveil our work, which was brought back to our country, to its homeland, by the Department of Combating Smuggling of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums of our Ministry, at the opening ceremony. During the years that our Minister served, we had the opportunity to bring many works from abroad. I would like to thank our general directorate and all our friends working on the issue of smuggling. Of course, exhibiting our works that have returned to their homeland, bringing our cultural heritage, works belonging to all civilizations that have lived in our geography back here makes us extremely happy.”
Funda Kumru Koşar, an archaeologist working at the Department of Combating Smuggling, also stated that there is no escape for those who try to take Turkey’s cultural assets from the lands they belong to.
“WE AIM TO INCREASE AWARENESS”
Koşar, who stated that they said “There is no escape from the laws of this country” in their work in this context, said:
“With this exhibition, we aim to raise awareness in this area. We are organizing the 4th exhibition here. With the support of our Minister, you will see cultural assets that were smuggled abroad from Troy and brought back to their homeland, as well as cultural assets seized in the Çanakkale region through successful operations by our law enforcement forces. It is also important for us to organize this exhibition in Troy because in the last quarter of the 19th century, during the Ottoman Empire, serious struggles were carried out in the form of both legal struggles and informing and mobilizing the national and international press for the return of Troy artifacts to their homeland. As the Department of Combating Smuggling, we are continuing our work with determination, with the support of our Minister, with the ancient information we have received from the Ottoman Empire period, so that those belonging to our country remain in these lands and those smuggled abroad return to their homeland.”
Deputy Minister Mumcu presented a tablet computer to Onur Özcan Çimen, who donated a 2,000-year-old Roman coin he found on his bike in the Çıplak village in May to the museum.
The program, which ended with a tour of the exhibition titled “Refugee Aeneas: Traces of Migration from Myths to the Present Day”, was attended by Selim Terzi, General Manager of Living Heritage and Cultural Activities of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Director of Turkey Culture Route Festivals, İsmail Kaşdemir, Head of Gallipoli Historical Site of the Gallipoli Wars, Rıdvan Gölcük, Director of the Troy Museum, Head of Troy Ancient City Excavation Team and Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University Faculty Member Prof. Dr. Rüstem Aslan and many guests.
(AA)