Troy Museuma candidate for European Museum of the Year Award

ÇANAKKALE

Troy Museum, located at the entrance to the ancient city of Troy in the northwestern province of Çanakkale, is now a candidate for the European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA) for 2020 by the European Museum Forum (EMF).

The museum, located within the boundaries of the village of Tevfikiye, covers 12,750 square meters of closed area including exhibition halls of 3,000 square meters.

The museum is one of the most important contemporary archaeological museums in the world and selected from among more than 150 projects by an expert jury in the National Architectural Design Competition. Its construction started in 2014 has been receiving visitors since Oct. 10, 2018.

The application of EMYA for the Troy Museum was approved by the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The necessary procedures were finished on May 10.

Speaking to the state-run Anadolu Agency, Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Kemal Dokuz said the museum cost about 75 million Turkish Liras.

As one of the most important museum projects in Turkey, Dokuz said, the museum sees a daily increase in visitors.

He said that 230,000 people visited the Troy Museum and the ancient city in the first five months of the year.

“These figures boost our hope,” he said. “We are very pleased with the number of museum visitors this year. They show us that we will progress in tourism more.”

Dokuz said the museum is “truly worthy” of EMYA.

This award is the “longest-running and the most prestigious” museum award in Europe, awarded annually by the EMF under the auspices of the Council of Europe, he said. In 1977, the award began under the leadership of Kenneth Hudson, a journalist, publisher and author who founded the EMF and was a leading figure in contemporary museology.

Any museum that has recently opened, modernized or expanded in the past two years in 47 European member states of the Council of Europe can be nominated for the award, Dokuz said.

He emphasized that the award aims to award excellence among the museums in Europe and promote innovative processes in international museology.

“This award is given to a museum that welcomes and contributes directly to its visitors with a unique atmosphere, with creative interpretation and presentation and an approach to education and social responsibility,” he said.

The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara is a former recipient of the award.

The Troy Museum hosts myths and legends of 5,000 years of history and introduces the civilization of Troy to the world by bringing eastern and western cultures together in Çanakkale.

On display at the museum are sculptures, sarcophaguses, inscriptions, altars, milestones, axes and cutters, terra cotta pottery, metal vessels, gold pieces, weapons, coins, bone objects and tools, glass bracelets, ornaments, figurines, glass and terra cotta scented bottles, tear bottles and many other special pieces that have witnessed the history of humankind.