In a remarkable stance during the UNESCO conference on the Parthenon Sculptures, Zeynep Boz, the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s Head of Smuggling Prevention, has openly supported Greece’s longstanding claim to the historic artifacts.
In her interview with ERTnews, Ms. Boz drew parallels between undocumented historical documents and the current status of the Parthenon marbles.
“Consider a document written today that lacks a signature, seal, or identifying mark, found 200 years later; it’s merely paper with text,” she said.
She said that the document in question, which supposedly legitimizes the Ottoman Empire’s sale of the sculptures to England, bears no official markings, such as the sultan’s signature, rendering it unofficial.
Expressing her anticipation, Ms. Bozsaid she “ eagerly await the day when the Parthenon Marbles reunite with the sky they deserve, displayed in the splendor of the Acropolis Museum.”
Ms. Boz further clarified that Turkish archives hold no records of any official transaction between the Ottoman State and England regarding the sculptures.
This absence of evidence has led to skepticism about the legality of the sculptures’ acquisition from the Ottoman perspective.
In her conclusive remarks, Ms. Boz reiterated Turkey’s support for Greece in the quest to repatriate the Parthenon marbles and combat cultural work smuggling.
“The two nations have always stood in solidarity. The day the sculptures grace the Acropolis Museum under their rightful sky is one I long to see,” she said.