US repatriates 12 artifacts to Turkey

Turkey's Consul General in New York announced that twelve ancient artifacts smuggled out of Turkey, including pieces from Konya, will be returned to the country.

Reyhan Ozgur stated during the repatriation ceremony, "This group of artifacts includes pieces from every different region of our country such as Konya, Burdur, Sanliurfa, Canakkale, Manisa, Antalya, and Eastern Anatolia. Antiquities smuggling poses a tremendous threat to our common cultural heritage. That's why as the Republic of Turkey, we're making great efforts to combat cultural property smuggling and protect the cultural heritage of Anatolian lands."

Ozgur highlighted Turkey's efforts to fight cultural property smuggling and protect the cultural heritage of the Anatolian lands, which hosted many civilizations. He mentioned that 1,203 cultural properties were returned to Turkey between 2002 and 2023. he said that Turkey's Culture and Tourism Ministry played a crucial role in bringing the facts together.

The repatriation was also welcomed by New York County Assistant District Attorneys Matthew Bogdanos and Lisa DelPizzo, who expressed happiness about it and pledged to continue working closely with Turkey. The twelve artifacts, including a Bronze Statue of Septimus Severus from Burdur's Boubon Ancient City, will be returned to Turkey via a Turkish Airlines cargo flight later today.