Exhibition on Republican-Era Hajj Journeys Draws Wide Attention in Konya

The “Hajj Journeys and Memories of the Republican Era Exhibition,” organized by the Konya Metropolitan Municipality, continues to welcome visitors.

Konya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Uğur İbrahim Altay stated that they are greatly pleased with the strong interest shown by the people of Konya in the exhibition, noting that Konya is not only a center of history and culture but also of a strong spiritual heritage.

“Hajj Journeys and Memories of the Republican Era Exhibition” brings to light the traces of pilgrimage journeys from Türkiye to the holy lands between 1947 and 1995 through documents, photographs, ephemera, and objects.

The collection, compiled through the long-term efforts of producer and collector Fatih Ketancı, presents an archive of a period’s social memory, everyday life, and emotional atmosphere under the umbrella of the pilgrimage tradition. Ranging from bus tickets and passports to zamzam sets, letters, travel photographs, and pilgrimage souvenirs, thousands of items take visitors on a multilayered journey into Türkiye’s recent history of Hajj culture.

Curated by Numan Noyan Küçük, the exhibition is structured around the main sections “Hajj History from 1517 to 1947,” “Preparation for the Great Journey,” “I Set Out on the Roads to the Kaaba,” “In the Holy Lands,” and “Return,” as well as the specific sections “Pilgrimage Memories 1–2,” “Preserving the Memory,” “Konya Memories,” and the “Documentary Room,” while also engaging with the city’s memory through special documents and memorabilia from Konya.

In the Documentary Room, a special film screening is featured, documenting a pilgrimage journey undertaken in 1974 using private vehicles.