Turkish artist opens art exhibition in Rome

Turkish artist Ahmet Sula opened his art exhibition Thursday in Rome.

"For me, the most important thing is to touch people's hearts by using the power of art," Sula said in opening ceremony remarks of "The Heart of the Word," or Kelimenin Kalbi, opened by Turkey's ambassador to the Vatican at the Yunus Emre Turkish Culture Center. "Today, the world is hunger for humanity and conscience. Anatolia is the places where these are growing. We'll talk about and explain them so they know us better."

Sula, who is also a senior police chief, said he tries to reflect the Turkish civilization with his work and has reached 80,000 people through his exhibitions and interviews.

Art-lover Guido Margarita was brought to tears viewing the collection where "philosophical paintings" is the main focus. "We see the beauty of Islam as you come here."

Margarita said there is a misrepresentation of Islam in Europe.

The 40 paintings in "The Heart of the Word" will be on display until Sunday.