June 11, 2024
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Türkiye Rejects UK Claims of Receiving Permission To Take the Parthenon Marbles
For centuries, ancient artefacts have been looted, traded and taken from their original lands, with many ending up in European and US museums. One is the ancient Greek treasures known as the Parthenon Sculptures, which Athens has been trying to reclaim from the UK for the past 40 years. And now at a time when Greece and Türkiye are seeing warmer relations, Ankara is showing full support for its neighbour’s claim to the historical artefacts.
Türkiye's head of smuggling prevention, Zeynep Boz, attended a UNESCO conference where she denied British claims that Ottoman officials approved the transfer of the relics. Boz said there were no Ottoman records giving permission to Britain's ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Lord Elgin, to take the relics. At the beginning of the 19th century, Elgin removed parts of the ancient Parthenon temple at the Acropolis in Athens and shipped them to Britain. Today, they're on display at the British Museum and have been a major dispute between Greece and the UK. Türkiye is also embroiled in several disputes with UK museums, calling for the return of relics from ancient Anatolian civilizations as well as the Ottoman Empire.
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