Turkish experts scour globe for missing artefacts
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has a 12-expert team visiting the auction halls around the world to find and bring back museum pieces smuggled out of Turkey.
The pieces brought back to country are being exhibited in the Anatolian Civilisations Museum in Ankara.
Turkey's Culture and Tourism Ministry has been dealing with historical artefact smugglers for a long time.
Forty-four artefacts have been brought back to Turkey last year, and more than 4,000 in the past 15 years.
A team within the General Directorate for Cultural Heritage and Museums is closely following all collections and auctions around the globe to see if any artefacts smuggled out of Turkey are being exhibited or sold.
Then they start an effort to bring them back to the country.
These recovered pieces are now being exhibited in the Anatolian Civilizations Museum in Ankara.
"Every piece is important and essential for the integrity of our cultural heritage," says Gokhan Cete, one of the ministry’s 12-expert team.
TRT World’s Andrew Hopkins reports from the Turkish capital Ankara.
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