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www.zaman.com For the 800th anniversary of the founding of the Mongolian Empire by Genghis Khan, the "Genghis Khan and his Heirs - The Great Mongolian Empire" exhibition will revive many events and heroes in history with which we are familiar.
The Sakip Sabanci Museum (SSM) has inaugurated its new exhibition.
Its previous exhibition, Picasso, was visited by all sorts of people from various backgrounds: toddlers, senior citizens, students from the city of Erzurum, and stylish ladies.
A Rodin exhibit succeeded Picasso satisfactorily.
This time the museum will take its visitors to distant horizons. Curator Dr. Nazan Olcer put it like this: “The journey is to the lands where the oldest scripts of our language lie and to our past which we have always known as a fairy tale.â€Â
Thanks to the maps and documents exhibited, the exhibition, which opened its doors today under the patronage of the Foreign Ministry of the Turkish Republic and Mongolian Education, Culture and Science Ministry, is read rather than visited.
Six hundred artifacts, some of which have recently come to light, and compiled from the most important museums of Mongolia, the major collections of Asia and Europe and from some Turkish museums, are telling the story of a world empire whose immense boundaries had once extended from the shores of the Pacific Ocean to the Hungarian plains and the steppes of Russia.
The story covers the most recent archaeological discoveries, parts of treasures, manuscripts adorned with miniatures, old maps, textiles and ceramics and harnesses and arms. The exhibition, hosting artifacts compiled from 38 different collections, also demonstrates the impact of the Mongolian language on Turkish. More importantly, the exhibition clears the name of the Mongolian Empire, long known as one of the worst plunderers in history.
The curator of the Sakip Sabanci Museum began his speech: “Genghis Khan is a warrior and a frightening figure in history. But history is not only black and white. We wanted to show the other colors.â€Â
Mongolian Minister of Education, Culture and Science Secretary-General Mishigjav Buurunkhii drew attention to our common history also touching on the fact that we lived in the same lands for centuries.
Another important figure at the press conference was Dr. Susanne Wichert-Meissner, who is the exhibition manager of the Federal Republic of Germany Art and Exhibition Center.
Wichert-Meissner noted that the Sabanci Museum joined other leading museums such as the Bonn, Munich and Vienna museums and that it was especially important for researchers.
The exhibition to be enriched with conferences, workshops, instructive programs for children and is kicking off with a symposium held today and tomorrow, entitled “Genghis Khan and His Sons: The Reflections in the Turkish World†organized by the Istanbul University the Institute of Turcology Researches in association with the SSM.
Forty-six speakers from Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Tatarstan, Japan, Mongolia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Poland are attending the symposium. The exhibition will remain open until April 8, 2007.
Genghis Khan united the Turkish clans and Mongolian tribes around a confederation that would soon become the Great Mongolian Empire. He passed beyond the Great Wall of China many times and destroyed the Harzemshah State. His famous commander Sudebey moved northwards to the Black Sea following the shores of the Caspian Sea, advanced into what is today Poland and devastated the many armies he was confronted with.
Genghis Khan is considered the inventor of the first biological weapon as he would throw people struck with leprosy by catapult into cities under siege. He died during one his campaigns in 1227. His grave has never been found. | 
