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- The Point of view of the government and official experts about amphora's and voice from Sinop rising for amphoras - |
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How the ones in arms and in uniforms have tendency to accept
themselves more honorable and partriotic. than the civilians the
scientists in our country, unfortunately, have tendency to ignore
and reject everyone other than themselves. It has been a long title but, first of all, I want you to know that if there had not been the rage of my dear reader, Hamit Kara, who called me from Sinop, the title and the subject of this article would have been different. My reader, shortly said to me that he was 53 years old and that he was an engineer graduated from Hacettepe University. He told me he had been interested in amphoras for years and he had been acquainted with Ersin Doger, the writer of the book titled "The Amphoras In The Ancient Ages" and he also related that he had assisted a group of French researches searching for ancient amphoras furnaces in Sinop. Reading my articles about amphoras, he called the office asking for my phone number and requesting for the previous issues including amphora articles. A have readers calling me from Turkey or abroad, but I would like to share the criticisms of Hamit Kara with you. As he was talking on the phone in excitement, I noted down everything he said. Firstly, I will relate you my notes and then I will give you an account of the answers of the experts to my questions at a meeting held in Istanbul Archeology Museum last summer. And then I will present you my ideas against their point of view. |
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What Hamit Kara told was just as the same as above: 1- The wife of the French researcher I've been assisting is almost eying out. She says "In France, everybody is forcing my husband to publish the book he has written about amphoras. 2- In our country, the government and our archeologists are always setting forth insurmountable olastacles. And unfortunately, I see in misery that our archeologists have neither any affection for their profession, nor any interest for history or any enthusiasm for research. 3- Please, test are, the amphora adorers at list come together and if it requires, letÕs build web sites in order to share the date we have 4- This country, this land and these seas are ours. We have been inhabiting on a great heritage. The strangers from France, America are coming here to make researches. Why, what for do we keep waiting? What do we require? |
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Yes, as I pointed out at the beginning, last year, there was held a
scientific meeting at Istanbul Archeology Museum library by a
foundation about underwater archeology. At question-answer part, I
directed such a question to the honorable researchers at the chair.
I attach great importance to this meeting and everybody interested in art and science, because they are really reglected in this country. |
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| But I want to relate you my criticisms on one subject. How
the ones in arms and uniforms have tendency to accept themselves
more honorable and patriotic than the civilians, the scientists in
our country, unfortunately, have tendency to ignore and reject
everyone other than themselves I am an amphora collectioner. I'm collecting these mysterious earthen wore jars, which are government close not protect and attach importance, of human history for humanity. And all of them are registered down in an inventory list of a museum. A love them. I wonder their history. I mend them. I protect them in order to transfer them to the next generations. Most of the times I go after an amphora to far away places leaving my job. I am spending time and money for them. I'm struggling with fishermen for them. And I'm trying to share all the data I collected with everyone by writing about the amphoras in Sea Magazine for almost 2 years. I'm not an archeologist or o scientist. Think of me as anyone. But I wish you had the same enthusiasm and interest a have even just for ore amphora. If only you had called and came to search, to see not only one but hundreds of amphoraÕs from different civilizations. Now, I ask you, why didn4 you come? The key word of science is curiosity. I ask you, why didnÕt you even wander? |
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First, there occurred a strained atmosphere in the hall, then
frowning, the chairman pointed one of the scat to take the
microphone from me (In fact, I had not finished yet) A women researcher, leading the excavations of Byzantine wracks began to speak and replied my question as follows: 1- I'm interested in amphoras that are under the water. The ones outside is of no interest to me 2- The ones taken out of water lose their identity. They are the withered flowers of underwater. 3- In fact, as archeologists, we are opposed to collectioners 4- But I promise, I will come and see them as soon as possible. Now, I want to share with you my opposite ideas which I could not find chance to reveal there. I do not aim to create polemics or a ground for discussion. I only want the amphoras to have the valve they deserve and I wish to create even a slight change in official points of view. 1- Being interested in amphoras that are under the water and ignoring the ones above means ignoring everything in the museums that have been found in the excavations on land. Only 30 percent of the monuments in the museums are found by scientific excavations. In my opinion, the monuments on land or water are the complementerics of the ones the land or water. If that honorable scientist had connected with me, she would have seen many different Byzantine amphoras and she would have been astonished by the amphoras with clover-shaped mouths or by He Byzantine amphoras with names written inside and with a big cruciform on it. 2- The ones taken out from the water lose their identity. And they are the withered flowers of underwater. The sentence sounds nice. Of course it would be more identifiable and meaningful if an ancient object was carried out from water or land under a scientifically discipline, but those amphora's have already been carried out. These have already withered. It isn't me who took them out. It isnÕt me who caused them to wither and who caused them to be taken out. Assume that the baby is born anyway (although bastard), isn't it necessary to protect him? 90 percent of these amphoras reached our country from Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria by being caught by the fisher nets. And they do not reach anymore since these waters have been forbidden to fishermen. Since it is out our authority and control to intervene fishing and turbot fishing all we can do is to protect those amphoras and notify them to museums. We are anatolion always grieving after the ancient monuments being smuggled out. Now these amphorasÕs of Anatolia origins are taken here, where they belong. Smuggling worked on our side this time. Why should we reject? Be sure that, those amphoras hod already lost their identity under the water by being pulled hundreds of meters by nets. Moreover, their identity is hidden in their forms so there is nothing to wary about that subject. 3- Being opposed to collecting is another subject. If there hadnÕt been the collectioners, there wouldnÕt have been any of the monuments that have been now listed in the museum inventories and have been kept in our country. And if there hadnÕt been Hüseyin Kocabaş, Rahmi Koç, Suna-İnan Kıraç, Sakıp Sabancı, Haluk Perk and many others, we wouldnÕt have any private museums. In developed countries, each collection is regarded as a museum. And the collectioners are regarded by the state as people giving high cultural service to their country where as in our country, they are treated as thieves. In our country, the goverment gives permission with official report from the ministry deportment to the collectioners and then daunt them by accepting them potential criminals and traitors. 4- However, I will come and see them as soon as possible. As you can guess, it did not come true since it was uttered to save the day Except for the ones who promised, interested uninterested related with the subject or not, many people came to see the collection and many are still coming. But the ores who really should see have not seen yet. Let's come to the result. I have no concern such as showing my collection to this or that person. When the suitable place and conditions are ensured, they will be presented to all humanity in a private museum in this way or that way. The problem is to have the reliable scientists out of their shell, out of their protected shelter. They should leave their caprices and complexes aside. They should look for data and share it. They should not belittle other people. I ask those, who insist on education or related brand name, which schools Edison or Mimar Sinan graduated from. To those who rely on the government or "chair", I remind the enthusiasm of Akut as opposed to Kızılay. I remind the private Darıca zoo as opposed to the states failure in Gülhane 200, I put forth dynamical and productive foundations of the private sector as opposed to the coarse structure of the state drawn in bureaucracy. Yes, let's end the article with the words of Dear Hamit Kara "This country, this land and these seas are ours. We have been inhabiting on a great heritage. The strangers from France, America are coming here to make researchers. Why, what for do we keep waiting? What do we require? Yes, why, what for? I leave the answers to you, dear reader. |
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