Prime Minister Erdoğan Opens Our University's Exhibition "The Ottoman View of the World from Piri Reis to Katip Çelebi" in Washington

Prime Minister Erdoğan Opens Our University's Exhibition "The Ottoman View of the World from Piri Reis to Katip Çelebi" in Washington

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said: "These maps clearly show that the Ottoman State was the master of horizons during its existence. With this exhibition, we are bringing our forgotten heritage to the world."

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan opened the exhibition The Ottoman View of the World from Piri Reis to Katip Çelebi, prepared by our University's Center for Civilization Studies (MEDAM). On the last day of his US visit, following his meeting with US President Barack Obama at the Nuclear Security Summit, Erdoğan opened the exhibition, which will remain open in Washington for 5 days.

The Map Exhibition The Ottoman View of the World from Piri Reis to Kâtip Çelebi opened at the Washington Marriott Hotel exhibition hall during the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers (AAG) in Washington on 13-18 April 2010.

Organized on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the birth of Katip Çelebi and opened by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the exhibition has so far been displayed abroad at California State University, San Bernardino in the USA, at the UNESCO Hall in Paris, France, and at the National Museum of Damascus, and in Türkiye primarily in İstanbul and Ankara, as well as in Bilecik, Mardin, Diyarbakır, Batman and Siirt.





In addition to Prime Minister Erdoğan, the exhibition opening in Washington yesterday evening was attended by his wife Emine Erdoğan, Minister of Foreign Affairs Prof. Dr. Ahmet Davutoğlu and Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yıldız. Speaking at the opening of the exhibition, Prime Minister Erdoğan said: "The maps prepared astonishingly by Piri Reis in the 16th century, almost as if taken from a satellite, and the unique works of Katip Çelebi are extremely important in showing the power and vision of the Ottoman State at that time. These maps clearly show that the Ottoman State was the master of horizons during its existence. In our history, the pen has always come before the sword. In the ages when weapons opened doors by force, our civilization conquered hearts. We must keep all these scholars of ours alive. With this exhibition, we are bringing our forgotten heritage to the world."

Speaking at the opening, Prof. Dr. Bekir Karlığa, Türkiye Coordinator of the Alliance of Civilizations and Head of MEDAM, said: "The 400th anniversary of Katip Çelebi's birth was declared the Katip Çelebi commemoration year by UNESCO. On this occasion, we prepared this map exhibition. Our whole aim was to show how the Ottomans viewed the world in the 17th century. Geography and maps proved very effective." Douglas Richardson, President of the Association of American Geographers, said: "These are not just photographs or science; they are true masterpieces of art."

Stating that he attaches great importance to international relations, Bahçeşehir University Chair of the Board of Trustees Enver Yücel said in his speech: "Although we are a young university, we have attached great importance to international relations for 12 years. I have made a point of attending every program of our Katip Çelebi map exhibition. It attracted great interest, especially in Riga and Paris. It has attracted great interest all over the world. We want to spread our civilization." Bahçeşehir University Chair of the Board of Trustees Enver Yücel also said: "As you know, 2009 was declared the year of commemoration of Katip Çelebi worldwide by UNESCO. We therefore prepared an exhibition around this concept. We have exhibited it in the USA, France, Latvia and Syria. It was fortunate that the world summit was being held. Our Prime Minister also attended the opening of the exhibition. Within the framework of the program of events of the 2009 International Kâtip Çelebi Year, accepted and declared by UNESCO on the initiative of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Map Exhibition The Ottoman View of the World from Pirî Reis to Kâtip Çelebi was prepared by the Bahçeşehir University Center for Civilization Studies (MEDAM) in memory of the 400th anniversary of his birth. With the support and contributions of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Secretariat of the Prime Ministry Promotion Fund and İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality Kültür A.Ş., more than 10 exhibitions have been held in Türkiye and abroad so far. It aims to bring the Ottoman view of the world, on the axis of Piri Reis and Kâtip Çelebi, who made great contributions to Ottoman geography and cartography, to wide audiences on national and international platforms through an original exhibition and by using various printing, publishing, IT and communication channels and tools."









The exhibition, featuring reproductions of maps produced or used from the pre-Ottoman period to the end of the 17th century, shows how the Ottoman view of the world changed after the maps and geographical discoveries.