Circumcision ceremony at Eskişehir archeology museum stirs controversy

ESKİŞEHİR - Doğan News Agency

A circumcision ceremony held in the midst of ancient monuments at the ETİ Archeology Museum in the Central Anatolian province of Eskişehir has stirred controversy, after photos from the event went online.

The photos drew a strong reaction after being shared widely on social media, showing that tables had been prepared and a sound system had been placed next to ancient monuments in a room of the museum, which is run by the Culture and Tourism Ministry.

Social and cultural events, including weddings, conferences, exhibitions and cocktails, are often held in the same room of the museum, according to an anonymous official at the museum.

“There are a few monuments in the room, but the major ones are on the upper floor,” the official was quoted as saying, adding that the ministry could release a statement on the issue on Monday.

ETİ Archeology Museum consists of three building blocks and has a total floor space of 4,000 square-meters, including a laboratory, a photography room, a cafe, a children’s museum, a library, a multipurpose hall, a conference room and exhibition rooms. The museum hosts 22,500 movable cultural objects from the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze, Hittite, Phrygian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods.