Cooperation and Contestation: Cultural Heritage in Occupied Istanbul

Year 2022, Volume: 4, 121 - 126, 31.12.2022

Ceren Abi

https://doi.org/10.53979/yillik.2022.10

Abstract

In lieu of an abstract:

On December 12, 1922, General Charpy, commander of the French occupying forces in Istanbul,
replied to Halil Bey (1861–1937), head of the Ottoman Imperial Museum, who had
recently inquired about French excavations in the city:

[F]ar from having destroyed and sacked [the city] during its stay here, the French
Occupational Corps made an effort to contribute to the beautification of your admirable
city and not only responded to the charitable needs of your refugees, but also used
the means which it had at its disposal for excavations, for the supplementation of the
patrimony of art, which constitutes the fame of your capital.1

Keywords

occupied Istanbul, cultural heritage, history of archaeology