Turkey in spotlight as ‘world’s largest museum’

ISTANBUL

The project was launched at an event with the attendence of officials from the Culture Ministry, the TÜRSAB Museums Initiatives and the Bilkent Cultural Initiatives.

A new project titled “The World’s Largest Museum: Turkey,” which includes a book, photography exhibition and a documentary film, was launched over the weekend at the Istanbul Archaeology Museums.

The project was initiated jointly by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, the Turkish Travel Agencies Union (TÜRSAB) Museums Initiatives, and the Bilkent Cultural Initiatives.

Speaking at the ceremony, Culture and Tourism Ministry Undersecretary Professor Ahmet Haluk Dursun said the project had been initiated to promote Turkey’s historical heritage in an active way. “The ministry aims at displaying and promoting the heritage of Turkey in the international arena. I believe this work will be helpful in the field of the history of civilizations,” Dursun said.

He added that the book, which features hundreds of photos of museums and ancient sites from all around Turkey and their impressive stories, together with photography exhibitions in Turkey and abroad and a 13-episode documentary film, revealed the importance of the history of humanity in Anatolia.

Book, film, documentary

With the visuals of archaeological artifacts, “The World’s Largest Museum: Turkey” brings together the cultural and historical heritage of Anatolia throughout a process from the Paleolithic age to the Hittite, Seljuk, Byzantine, Ottoman and Republican eras. The visuals show ancient sites such as the Karain Inns, Göbeklitepe, Çatalhöyük, Ephesus, Zeugma, Çavuştepe and others.

As part of the photography exhibition, more than 100 objects selected from various regions and eras were photographed. The photos will be displayed in Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Adana, Bodrum and Antalya, as well as international tourism fairs, airports, consulate generals and prestigious exhibition halls in London, Paris, Frankfurt and Moscow.

The exhibition will remain open at Istanbul’s Darphane-i Amire building through Dec. 31.

As part of the project, private broadcaster NTV will screen a 13-episode documentary series of the same name on the artifacts and objects that shed light on the history of Anatolia, every Sunday at 10 p.m.