26.04.2025 23:01
Emine Erdoğan inaugurated the "Hidden Treasures" exhibition, where 40 handwritten books discovered in a hidden bundle in Kahramanmaraş were presented. The exhibition marks a first in Turkey by using locally handmade paper during the restoration process.
Emine Erdoğan opened the 'Hidden Ones' exhibition, where 40 handwritten books hidden in a bundle in Kahramanmaraş were presented.
Before the opening, Hasibe Nurhayat Turan, the President of the Asitane Foundation, provided Emine Erdoğan with information about the exhibition and gifted her a flower-shaped brooch made from recycled paper as a memento of the day.
HE CUT THE RIBBON
Emine Erdoğan, who opened the exhibition by cutting the ribbon, was accompanied by Afşin Mayor Koray Kıraç, Asitane Foundation President Turan, Asitane Foundation Vice President Nuriye Doğusan, and painter, conservator, and restorer Şule Alabacak.
After taking a family photo, Emine Erdoğan toured the exhibition and received information about the displayed works from historian Murat Bardakçı.
Afşin Mayor Kıraç presented Emine Erdoğan with a photo of the Seven Sleepers Cave as a memento of the day.
HIDDEN ONES EXHIBITION
The exhibition features approximately 40 handwritten and printed works that were hidden for about 100 years, found within the wall of a mud-brick house that collapsed in 2020 in the Afşin district of Kahramanmaraş.
The works belong to Mehmet İmamoğlu, who was awarded the Independence Medal, and among the books hidden between the walls are books on logic, jurisprudence, biography, surah interpretations, worship guides, religious stories, tajwid, Arabic grammar books, and a soldier's notebook.
The works, which were protected by the Afşin Municipality, were restored through a meticulous 2.5-year effort at the Istanbul Asitane Conservation Restoration Center.
In this project, the conservation process of the 40th handwritten book used locally produced and handmade papers produced by Istanbul Kağıt, marking a first in Turkey.