'Gypsy Girl' mosaics return to Turkey
Missing fragments of Roman-era mosaics have returned to Turkey more than 50 years after being smuggled to the United States. They have now been proudly displayed in the southeastern city of Gaziantep.
Home at last
Twelve fragments of Roman-era mosaics plundered from the Turkish city of Gaziantep 50 years ago have been returned to Turkey by the US's Bowling Green State University in Ohio. The agreement for their return was signed after more than five years of talks. The university, which says it had no idea about the provenance of the mosaics, is to receive exact replicas.
'An important day for Turkey'
The opening of the exhibition at the Zeugma Mosaic Museum on Saturday was attended by Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy. "The return of these missing parts motivates us in our efforts to bring back so many artifacts that belong to these lands," he said. In November, he told parliament that the country had retrieved more than 4,000 ancient relics from abroad over the past five years.
Celebratory song
The return of the mosaics to Gaziantep was described as a national triumph by the city's mayor, Fatma Sahin. It even provided the inspiration for a specially composed song to celebrate the event. It was played before the opening ceremony at the exhibition.
50 years abroad
Turkish authorities say the fragments of mosaic were removed in the early 1960s through unauthorized excavation work. The Bowling Green State University bought them from a New York gallery in 1965. Turkish and university officials agreed in May to return them to Turkey. They arrived there on November 27.
Ancient and precious
The returned mosaics date back to the 2nd century and form part of a larger set from a Roman dining room that was located in the old city of Zeugma, near the modern one of Gaziantep. Zeugma flourished under Greek and then Roman rule before being destroyed by war in the 3rd century.
Symbol of the city
This female face was discovered in Zeugma in 1998 as part of the dining room mosaic and was nicknamed "Gypsy Girl," although it is thought to depict a maenad — a female follower of the wine god, Dionysus, in Greek mythology. Maenads were often portrayed, as here, with disheveled hair and a wild appearance. The "Gypsy Girl" has become a symbol of Gaziantep.
World's largest mosaic museum
The Zeugma Mosaic Museum is the biggest of its kind in the world and contains 1,700 square meters (18,299 square feet) of mosaics. It opened to the public in 2011. The artifacts contained in it mostly come from Zeugma, which is thought to have been founded by one of Alexander the Great's generals.