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Türkiye is pressing ahead with a determined, multi-layered campaign to recover cultural artifacts taken abroad through illegal means, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy has said, underlining that the effort is producing tangible results through coordinated scientific, legal and diplomatic work.
In a video message shared on his official social media account, Ersoy said the government has been systematically tracking down cultural assets removed from Türkiye without authorization and returning them to their place of origin.
He stressed that each case is handled individually and backed by detailed research and international legal processes, framing the effort as both a technical operation and a matter of principle.
According to Ersoy, the fight against cultural property trafficking is long-term and complex, requiring close coordination between historians, legal experts and diplomats. He explained that museums, auction houses and private collections abroad are carefully reviewed, while claims are supported by archival records, expert assessments and scientific reports before legal action is pursued.
He said this approach has allowed Türkiye to build strong cases under international law, ensuring that its claims are recognized and upheld by foreign institutions and authorities. International cooperation, he added, has become an essential pillar of the process, helping turn long-standing demands into concrete outcomes.
Ersoy noted that the pace of returns has increased noticeably in recent years, reflecting the impact of more structured and persistent efforts. Between 2018 and 2025, more than 9,000 cultural objects were returned to Türkiye, a figure that represents a significant share of all recovered artifacts over the past decades.
Looking at a broader timeline, he said the total number of artifacts brought back since the early 2000s exceeds 13,000, while the cumulative figure since 1980 has reached nearly 27,000. He emphasized that many of these returns were achieved during the most recent period, when the strategy began to yield more visible and measurable results.
Ersoy framed each return not simply as the physical recovery of an object, but as a reaffirmation of cultural sovereignty and historical continuity.
He said the process reflects Türkiye’s determination to safeguard its historical memory and shared heritage, describing the campaign as a clear stance rather than a routine administrative task.
He added that the ministry intends to keep following the trail of artifacts held abroad and to pass this cultural legacy on to future generations, signaling that the current momentum will be maintained.
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