Emin Şirin asks: Where are the 36 shipwrecks found during the Marmaray excavations?
Former Istanbul MP and political commentator Emin Şirin has brought the fate of the historical artifacts unearthed during the 2004 Marmaray excavations to the agenda. Addressing authorities via his social media account, Şirin asked for a public explanation, stating, "They were supposedly going to be exhibited in a museum area... What happened?"
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The 36 shipwrecks found in Yenikapı during the excavations, which were determined to have been used until the 8th century, along with numerous amphorae, wooden pier remains, and commercial goods, were of a nature to rewrite the history of Istanbul.
These discoveries had attracted great worldwide attention as one of the largest collections of Byzantine-era shipwrecks.
At that time, statements made by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism indicated that these unique findings would be exhibited in a special archeopark or maritime museum to be built in Istanbul.
However, despite the 20 years that have passed, a permanent exhibition space or museum project has not been completed.
As expectations for the preservation and public exhibition of cultural heritage grow, Emin Şirin's call has once again created an agenda.
This question, which Şirin directed by tagging CİMER and Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, has drawn attention on social media.