19 cultural artifacts smuggled abroad returned to Türkiye

Türkiye's Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced Sunday that 19 artifacts have been returned from several countries this year, demonstrating a significant endeavor to protect the nation's cultural heritage.

Throughout the year, the ministry has repatriated artifacts illegally removed from Türkiye and taken to six countries, including the U.S., the UK and Italy.

One notable item is a Quran repatriated from the UK that was originally part of the collection of Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II.

Signed at the start of the 16th century by Mustafa Dede, one of the most celebrated Turkish calligraphers of the time, it was illegally taken out of Türkiye through extortion and put on sale in 2017, the ministry said.

In the largest number of artifacts sent back, 11 terracotta pieces were returned by Italy after an inquiry by the Florence Prosecutor's Office and a report from the Ankara Museum of Anatolian Civilizations.

Other important returns involve a bronze emperor statue from between the late second and early third centuries AD, a Roman period terracotta vase from Germany, and two bronze coins from the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justin I (518-527 AD) repatriated from France.

Since 2002, 12,139 artifacts have been brought back to Türkiye, with 7,823 of these returns occurring after 2018.

Ankara is actively engaged in identifying and retrieving artifacts that were illegally taken out of the country.