Ancient artifacts shine light on history in NW Turkey

Artifacts found in northwestern Turkey from the ancient civilizations of Thrace, Persia, Macedonia, Rome and Byzantium are a must see for museum-goers in the area, local tourism officials have said. The relics are in exhibits in three of Turkey's provinces in the Thrace region, namely Edirne, Kırklareli and Tekirdağ, all of which have hosted human civilization since ancient times. In the Edirne Ethnography and Archeology Museum, valuable coin collections, sculptures, earthenware and glass vessels, as well as dolmens, line the stands from the Greek, Byzantine and Roman periods. 'Edirne isn't just a city of sultans, but also a city of emperors and kings. What makes Edirne different and superior is that it's the crossing point of civilizations,' said Kemal Soytürk on Friday, the provincial director of culture and tourism, referring to the city's service as the capital of the Ottoman Empire in the 14th and 15th centuries after it was captured from the Byzantine Empire. The region is famous for its dolmens, a type of megalithic tomb usually consisting of multiple slabs supporting a large flat horizontal one, said Soyturk, adding that there are around 70 dolmens.