Smuggled artifacts from Turkey shown on map

ANTALYA

The Antalya Promotion Foundation (ATAV) has prepared maps in three languages to draw attention to historical artifacts from Turkey that have been smuggled abroad. 

The ATAV started printing the map series, “My homeland is Antalya,” 11 years ago. This year it aims to draw attention to the illegal trafficking of historical artifacts, producing maps in Turkish, English and German. 

The artifacts featured in the maps include the Corydella Treasure, which was smuggled from Turkey and is on display at the Washington Museum, the Pergamon Thyke sculpture that is on display in Belgium, and the Nereid Monument of Xanthos on display at the British Museum in London. 

During a recent press conference at the Antalya Museum, ATAV President Yeliz Gül Ege said many ancient artifacts were taken from Anatolia “in the darkness of the 19th century” to enrich museums in London, Athens, Brussels and Washington. 

Ege noted that the Roman sarcophagus of Hercules and the Elmalı treasures had been brought back to Antalya and are now being displayed there Antalya thanks to the efforts of various ministries and civil society organizations. 

“There are many artifacts that we have reunited with after much effort. But there are still many Anatolian artifacts decorating museums in different parts of the world. We carried out this work in order to draw attention to this fact. The maps we have produced are in three languages … and we will present them to tourists visiting Antalya,” she added.