Turkish identity has no need to choose between Europe and Asia,between secularisation and Islam,or between East and West.We are ourselves,and that is already complex enough.
Orhan Pamuk
Leading museums in Turkey and Western Europe are joining forces for a sensually stimulating exhibition.The collection of the Topkapi Palace alone –home of the Ottoman sultans –appeals hugely to the imagination.Unique pieces from the Louvre,the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna,the museums of Berlin and the most important
Turkish museums complete the picture.Together all these art treasures make others,goddesses and gultanas a must for those who wish to immerse themselves in the origins of both eastern and western civilisations.The visitor will also gradually increase his acquaintance with contemporary Turkey.
We encounter the peoples who have left their traces in Anatolia in the course of 9000 years.The journey takes us through such renowned cultures as the Hittites,Greek and Roman antiquity, Byzantium and the Ottomans.In each of the four main cultural
periods women come forward to be our guide.The Hittite Queen Putukhipa for example shows us her daily activities,the last empress of Byzantium evokes the part she played at court and Hurrem Sultan introduces us to Suleiman the Magni fi cent.
From prehistoric mother-goddess to empress of Byzantium,from slave to sultana,from priestess to maid:each in their own way influenced the destiny of their native country and helped define our contemporary view of ‘woman ’ and femininity..