Report came to Antalya! Historical artifact listed for sale on sahibinden.com

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is making intensive efforts to return artifacts removed from Turkey and taken abroad. On the website sahibinden.com, historical artifacts or antiques were listed for sale at a price of 2.5 million lira on 18.08.2024.

Cemil Karabayram, President of the International Strategy Development Research Association (USKAD) and a conservation and restoration expert, commented: “Turkey has been fighting against smuggling very seriously, and in this context, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has returned many artifacts to our country and continues to do so. The sale of our cultural heritage on one of Turkey’s most well-known websites is truly a disaster. The Ministry of Trade needs to take urgent action.”

The information about the sale of historical or antique cultural assets on the site includes details about the period they belong to. On the site, a user named C.D., listing Elazig as the location, put cultural assets for sale at 2.5 million lira under the heading “Ancient Historical Artifacts.” The description stated: “A spearhead and three axeheads were determined to be from before the Common Era.” The issue was reported to Cemil Karabayram, who is based in Antalya.

Karabayram reported that he immediately notified the Elazig Police Department, and an operation was carried out, resulting in the artifacts being seized and handed over to the Elazig Museum. Karabayram added: “As USKAD, we are sensitive to these issues. We have previously acted in Antalya and Van to apprehend artifacts. Recently, I saw the sale of ancient cultural artifacts on a site and checked it. After coordinating with the Elazig Anti-Smuggling Unit, the items were seized and delivered to the museum.”

He also emphasized that the Ministry of Trade needs to urgently take measures to prevent the sale of cultural assets on such well-known websites and increase security measures to protect cultural heritage.