Zeynep Boz

An unexpected statement from the Turkish side last May supporting Greece's bid for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures pointed the way forward. Zeynep Boz, the head of the Turkish Culture Ministry's department for combating antiquities theft, confirmed that there is no such document as the firman cited by the British side to claim possession of the marble fragments taken by Lord Elgin.

Her statement at last May's UNESCO intergovernmental committee caused a stir in Greece and abroad. It was no small thing for a representative of Turkey to say that the sultan's firman invoked by Britain to justify Lord Elgin's removal of the Parthenon Sculptures and their subsequent purchase by the British government has not been found in Ottoman archives.

In a significant stride against cultural property smuggling, Türkiye successfully repatriated 45 historical artifacts from abroad this year, reaffirming its commitment to preserving its rich heritage.

A "Kore torso" — a statue body without the head and arms — that was auctioned in the U.K. and returned to Türkiye after being proven smuggled from the ancient city of Miletus in the western province of Aydın's Didim district, will soon be exhibited at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara.

In a significant development expected to bolster Greece's stance, Türkiye has thrown its support behind the neighboring country's ongoing campaign to reclaim Elgin Marbles from the United Kingdom.

Turkey's spokesperson at a meeting of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation (ICPRCP) last week denied knowledge of a written authorization allowing Britain's Lord Elgin to sell large sections of the Parthenon's sculptural decorations that had been removed from the ancient

A headless bronze statue believed to depict the Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius was ordered seized from the Cleveland Museum of Art by New York authorities investigating antiquities looted from Türkiye.