Journey to Phrygian civilization
Thursday, January 3, 2008
ISTANBUL - Turkish Daily News


An exhibition in Beyoğlu gives visitors insight into a culture whose
great influences on contemporary Turkey often go unnoticed.

   "Anatolia is a land whose thousands-of-years-old voices still
echo in our ears," it is commonly said. The Phrygian voices are
definitely among them. The Yapı Kredi Vedat Nedim Tör Museum in the
center of Beyoğlu, Istanbul's most active art and entertainment
district, presents an interesting, multifaceted and original
exhibition entitled "The Mysterious Civilization of the Phrygians."

Ancient Iron Age society from southeastern Europe established a
powerful kingdom in central Anatolia in the ninth century B.C. The
Phrygians' farming abilities and strong textile and metal industries
allowed them to coexist with whichever was the dominant power in the
rest of Anatolia until the Lydian ascendancy in the seventh century
B.C. Its advanced and rich Bronze Age culture and traditions have
considerably shaped Anatolian history and development.



The Phrygian sphere

The exhibition's artifacts of this unique and fascinating society
include a profound selection of photographs, original paintings,
sculptures, inscriptions and vessels through which Phrygia comes to
life again. Its variety, precision and originality catch visitors'
attention and transport them to another sphere, the Phrygian sphere.
Surrounded by its charismatic religious icon, "Mother Cybele," and
complex inscriptions in the Phrygian language, visitors experience an
enthralling journey through Phrygia's history and culture.

Numerous photographs from Phrygian landmarks embedded in today's
beautiful Anatolian landscape are also included in the exhibition.
Although Phrygia was already conquered 2,000 years ago, it appears to
have survived, at least in the heart of historians and visitors, many
overwhelmed by the ancient kingdom presented by this excellent
exhibition.

Entrance to the exhibition is free, and the gallery is open between
10:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. on weekdays.  The show runs until April 13,
2008.

Yapi Kredi Vedat Nedim Tör Museum

Istiklal Caddesi 161,

Beyoğlu 34433 Istanbul