Erdogan: We brought back 4,440 artifacts in 18 years

Turkish President Rajab Tayyip Erdogan announced in a speech during his participation in the opening of the National Museum of Painting and Sculpture in Ankara, that his country has managed to recover 4,440 artifacts in the last 18 years.

President Erdogan affirmed the government’s keenness to restore antiquities that belong to Turkey from abroad, adding: “We have been able to return 4,440 artifacts to their original homes in the last 18 years.”

He pointed out that the successive “justice and development” governments have renewed 156 museums across the country and built 52 new museums since they took power in 2002, noting that thanks to the support and encouragement of the government, the number of visitors to museums and archaeological sites increased from about 7.5 million visitors in 2002 to more than 42 million visitors today.

For his part, Minister of Tourism and Culture, Muhammad Nuri Ersoy, said that the museum has a long past, as it opened its doors for the first time 90 years ago, noting that the museum includes 2,780 drawings and 226 statues.

He pointed out that the total holdings of the museum amounted to 3 thousand and 629 artworks, with the works being counted in the fields of Turkish decorative arts, ceramics, printing, caricature, photographs and ethnography.

Source: Anatolia