Archéologie : en Irak, sur les traces des Urukiens

Au 4e millénaire, ils inventèrent la ville et l'écriture. Une équipe française vient de trouver des preuves de leur implantation dès 3900 ans avant notre ère, à 600 km au nord d'Uruk.

Il suffit parfois d'un  nom et d'une date notés dans un vieux registre pour qu'une aventure commence. Régis Vallet, archéologue au CNRS spécialiste du Proche-Orient, cherchait dans la région un nouveau lieu de fouille à la place de celui sur lequel il travaillait au nord-est de la Syrie, avant le début de la guerre civile. "Depuis 2011, on ne peut plus aller là-bas", explique-t-il. Alors il s'est plongé dans l"Atlas des sites archéologiques irakiens", à la recherche d'un site qui lui permettrait de continuer ses recherches sur son thème de prédilection : le passage de village à l'Etat dans cette partie du monde. Mais l'atlas remonte... aux années 50. L'ouvrage répertorie les sites irakiens alors identifiés et évalue sommairement leur âge......

 Fig. 1/ La Syrie et l'Irak aujourd'hui. De haut en bas : dans le cercle rose, les fouilles de l'équipe de Régis Vallet en Syrie avant la guerre civile. Dans le cercle orange, les fouilles en Irak d'octobre 2015. Dans le cercle jaune, Uruk, première ville de l'humanité, aujourd'hui simple village (Google maps)

http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/culture/20160422.OBS9058/archeologie-en-irak-sur-les-traces-des-urukiens.html 

 

Turkish scientists set to go to Antarctica in December

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

A Turkish team plans to expand the number of its researchers for its Antarctica mission during its next visit to the remote continent in December this year, according to the leader of a team of Turkish scientists.        

Istanbul Technical University’s Burcu Özsoy told state-run Anadolu Agency on April 6 there were plans to carry out a more comprehensive and longer second feasibility work in December.        

“We aim to establish a green base. In the first stage, it would be ideal that 20 to 25 scientists work at the Turkey Scientific Research Base,” Özsoy said. 

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-scientists-set-to-go-to-antarctica-in-december--.aspx?pageID=238&nID=111753&NewsCatID=374 

21st Aydın Doğan Award goes to Neş’e Erdok

The 21st Aydın Doğan Award has been granted to Turkish contemporary painter Neş’e Erdok, according to the Aydın Doğan Foundation.

The award, which has been issued since the establishment of the foundation in 1996, aims to encourage and reward individuals who have committed their careers to contributing to humanity in the fields of arts, science and culture.  

To date, the award has been issued to individuals and institutions who have excelled in, or contributed significantly to, fields such as novel writing, social sciences and the humanities, visual arts, poetry, history, music, archaeology and architecture.

Born in Istanbul in 1940, Erdok studied painting under Neşet Günal at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul. 

Between 1965 and 1966, she studied Spanish language and literature as well as the history of Spanish civilization and art at the Escuela Eutral de Idromas and the Escuela Diplomética in Madrid. 

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/21st-aydin-dogan-award-goes-to-nese-erdok-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=111889&NewsCatID=385

Cat rescued by Turkish soldier in Syria’s al-Bab finds new home in Istanbul bookstore

Gülden Aydın – ISTANBUL

 

A cat rescued from northern Syria by a Turkish soldier during the Euphrates Shield Operation in February has found his new home: A bookstore in Istanbul.

The eight-month-old cat named Barış (“Peace” in Turkish) had first been taken to the Gaziantep-based Improving the Life of Living Animals Association (CAHİDE) after Specialized Sgt. Ömer Özkan found him in al-Bab during ongoing clashes there.

A raft of applications to adopt Barış followed, including from the Kırmızı Kedi (Red Cat) Publishing House in Istanbul.

Haluk Hepkon, the owner of the publishing house, later sent his employee Salih Yavuz to Gaziantep to pick Barış up. He arrived in Istanbul in the early hours of April 9 to begin his new life among the books at the Publishing House. 

“He is now our most precious member of staff,” Hepkon told daily Hürriyet, adding that their priority is now to make Barış feel safe at his new home.

“The fact that Barış will live in a publishing house whose name is ‘Red Cat’ is the right ending for his own story. The humanity that our soldier showed should not be left half-finished. Barış is the legacy of bitter events in Syria and our soldiers there … Barış came to Kırmızı Kedi and I hope ‘peace’ will also come to Syria and Middle East,” he added.

Ancient civilizations on show at Amasra Museum

BARTIN – Anadolu Agency

The Amasra Museum, home to more than 3,000 archaeological and ethnographical artifacts from the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Genoese, Seljuk and Ottoman periods, reveals the northern province of Bartın’s 5,000-year-old history. 

The Amasra district, where the museum is located, bears the name of Persian queen Amastris, who ruled the city after the Lydians. 

The museum opened in 1969 at a primary school building after many artifacts were consecutively extracted from the region. The museum moved to its new place in 1982 after the building of a navy school was bought by the Culture and Tourism Ministry. 

With four exhibition halls, the museum displays pieces extracted from graves such as tear glasses, golden and bronze jewelries, bronze statuettes, bracelets, hooks, crosses, weapons, candles, as well as copper kitchen tools, writing tools, chandeliers, seals, scales, ceramics, rings and traditional dresses. 

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ancient-civilizations-on-show-at-amasra-museum-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=111887&NewsCatID=375 

First feature program at Istanbul Modern

Istanbul Modern Cinema will present My First Feature, a program focusing on the debut features filmed by current directors at the start of their careers, between April 20 and 23.

The selection features four films by the unusual director of French cinema Claire Simon, who has been working across different genres ranging from documentary to fiction for 20 years and has always tried to capture the essence of reality.

The program includes Simon’s first feature-length documentary, “The Patients,” in which she follows her father’s best friend, Dr. Bouvier, a few months before his retirement and shows the compassion with which this experienced doctor approaches his patients. Also featured in the program are her films “God’s Offices” and “Gare du Nord.” 

Another film to be screened in My First Feature will be “Private Madness” by Belgian director Joachim Lafosse, which was nominated for the Golden Leopard at the Locarno film festival in 2004. A conversation with Simon is also included in the program.

On April 20, Simon will be present after the screening of “God’s Offices” for a conversation on her cinema at 5:15 p.m. 

On April 23, the producer of “Private Madness,” Eric Van Zuylen, will be present after the screening of the film for a conversation on Joachim Lafosse’s cinema at 5:45 p.m.

April/17/2017  HDN

INTERVIEW: Kapka Kassabova on a ‘journey to the edge of Europe’ in Hürriyet Daily News

William Armstrong - william.armstrong@hdn.com.tr

The border between Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria is described by writer Kapka Kassabova as “the last outpost of Europe.” Bulgaria is the poorest member of the EU, Greece remains mired in economic woes, and Turkey is steadily heading down the path to authoritarianism. The history of the borderland between them is even more troubled than the present, marked by war, ethnic cleansing, and decades of hard division during the Cold War.   

In “Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe” (reviewed in HDN here), Kassabova visits this outpost, hearing the voices of local people and chronicling their fragile traditions. Kassabova spoke to HDN about her book on the past and present of this edge of Europe, as well as the remarkable locals she found there. 

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/interview-kapka-kassabova-on-a-journey-to-the-edge-of-europe.aspx?pageID=238&nID=111751&NewsCatID=386 

Gate of Istanbul under restoration in BURSA

BURSA - Doğan News Agency

Restoration work has been initiated in the 2,000-year-old Gate of Istanbul, the most magnificent part of the city walls in the northwestern city of Bursa’s İznik district. 

İznik is one of the important pilgrimage centers for the world of Christianity as the 1st and 7th Ecumenical Councils were held there in 325 and 787 A.D. and was home to the Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman civilizations. 

The project to turn the sunken basilica in the lake into a museum and others works in the ancient theater, tile furnaces, Abdulvahap Hill, khans and madrasahs have still been continuing in the city. 

The restoration, carried out by the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, is slated to cost 4.5 million Turkish Liras. 

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/gate-of-istanbul-under-restoration-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=111550&NewsCatID=375 

Harran welcomes volunteer archaeologists

ŞANLIURFA – Anadolu Agency


Visitors to the ancient site of Harran in Southeast Anatolia now have the chance to participate in excavations on one of the oldest sites in human history.

As part of a new project, a special area measuring about 30 square meters has been created in the Ulu Mosque excavation area in which tourists can attempt to conduct excavations for sculptures, ceramic pieces and copper objects placed by archaeologists

Harran District Gov. Temel Ayca said the excavations were very important for tourism in the district. 

“People want to experience archaeological excavations. This work makes visitors stay in the district for a longer time, which is our goal. This is one of the most important parts of our rural design project. We want to establish a big archaeopark in Harran. Then people will be able to make excavations in a larger field,” Ayca said.

The head of the Harran excavations, Professor Mehmet Önal, said the excavations in the field were like the real ones, with visitors beginning their dig after receiving some lessons in theory.

“Just like real archaeologists, visitors find artifacts and get very excited. At the end of the education, each of them leaves here as a protector of old artifacts. This makes us very pleased,” he said, adding that his team also provided information about the artifacts unearthed by visitors.

April/18/2017  HDN