Category: turkey

Postcard from Istanbul, Turkey: Tooting horn about restitution of artifacts

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Above: Stag rhyton, Milas, Turkey, 400 BCE, displayed in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum

The elegant stag rhyton pictured above must have been quite a status symbol for its owner in ancient Turkey. Today’s value of the combination wine aerator and drinking vessel, $3.5 million, probably made it even more so for the billionaire American collector who acquired it without verifiable provenance.

For decades, Michael Steinhardt displayed a rapacious appetite for plundered artifacts without concern for the legality of his actions, the legitimacy of the pieces he bought and sold, or the grievous cultural damage he wrought across the globe. His pursuit of ‘new’ additions to showcase and sell knew no geographic or moral boundaries, as reflected in the sprawling underworld of antiquities traffickers, crime bosses, money launderers, and tomb raiders he relied upon to expand his collection.”

Cyrus Vance, Jr., District Attorney of Manhattan, December 2021 Statement

Now it is part of a growing collection of repatriated stolen antiquities proudly showcased in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum.

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Postcard from Istanbul, Turkey: Controversies resurface with conversion of Chora

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Above: Angels surround an image of the Virgin Mary and Child in a 14th-century Byzantine fresco in the dome crowning a side chapel of the former Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora, recently reopened as the Kariye Mosque.

I have no religion, and at times I wish all religions at the bottom of the sea. He is a weak ruler who needs religion to uphold his government; it is as if he would catch his people in a trap.” 

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938)

For many in Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk remains the most respected figure in the republic’s history. Banners bearing Ataturk’s image still flutter across streets and on buildings throughout Istanbul.

Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Ataturk led a successful revolution against the Allied Forces to prevent them from dividing up Turkey as spoils of war. He abolished the Sultanate and then proclaimed Turkey an independent republic in 1923.

As the country’s first president, Ataturk launched a host of aggressively progressive reforms: free and compulsory elementary level education for all; equal rights for women; and secularization of the state. Later, both Hagia Sofia and Chora Church were converted into museums, demonstrating Turkey’s tolerance of different religions.

In 2020 to cement his support on the conservative right, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan succeeded in convincing the court to overturn Ataturk’s original decree and announced the conversion of both into mosques. The conversions were accompanied by a promise to keep the mosques accessible to those of all faiths.

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Postcards from Amsterdam, Netherlands: ‘Stories that Matter’ told by the brave

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Above: Names of journalists and photographers killed in the line of duty memorialized at the opening exhibition of the World Press Photo 2024 Awards in the Nieuwe Kerk Amsterdam

In the two decades since 2003, at least 1,668 journalists have lost their lives while trying to shed light on issues of importance to us all, according to Reporters without Borders. In 2023, another 45 names were added to that list. The list prominently displayed in Amsterdam’s New Cathedral for the opening of the World Press Photo 2024 Awards must have hit the photographers hard – names of coworkers and friends they have made while covering stories in danger zones throughout the world.

The Nieuwe Kerk is hardly “new,” having been consecrated in 1409. While the “Royal Church” is still used for royal weddings and coronations, it also serves as a venue for important exhibitions, such as this one. With its soaring vaulted ceiling, floors embedded with tombs and cherubs overlooking all, the dramatic setting emphasized the seriousness of the meaningful topics delved into by the award-winning photographers.

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