Having been organized by Cyprus Turkish National History Museum in cooperation with the General Directorate of State Archives of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey, the exhibition themed on "Cyprus in the Light of Ottoman Documents" will be opened by Ali Murat Başçeri, the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to Nicosia.

According to the info released by the Directorate of Press and Public Relations Office of Near East University, the opening ceremony of the exhibition, which features 100 documents on various issues concerning the island of Cyprus during Ottoman period, will be held at the Exhibition Hall of Grand Library at 18:30 on Monday, 27 May 2019.

The Conquest of Cyprus from the Past to the Present Will Be Documented...
Starting from the conquest, the way that Ottoman Empire administrated the island of Cyprus, will be explained via the documents to be exhibited at the exhibition titled "Cyprus in the Light of Ottoman Documents". The oldest document to be exhibited belongs to the date of July 3, 1570, when the soldiers of the Ottoman Empire set foot on the island, and the newest document belongs to the date of 12 May 1899, when the administration of Cyprus was taken over by Britain. Everything including education, foundations, population, demography and trade that ongoing on the island during the rule of Ottoman Empire will be unveiled and enlightened via edicts, charters, orders and provisions.

The documents to be exhibited will be recorded in the inventory of the Cyprus Turkish National History Museum and will continue to be exhibited in the museum which will open its doors to the visitors in 2020.

It Will Be Ensured That Young Generations Know their Past Well before Setting out to Explore the Future...
The Dean of Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the Founding Chairman of the Board of the Cyprus Turkish National History Museum, Professor Ali Efdal Ozkul stated that Near East University has added a historic responsibility to her scientific mission by creating the Cyprus Turkish National History Museum in order to shed light not only on the existence of Turkish Cypriots throughout the historical process but also on the future.

The mission of the museum, which will open its doors to the visitors in 2020, is to shed light on the history of Turkish Cypriots and to convey it to the future. Highlighting that Cyprus Turkish National History Museum would be a place, where history and mystery of Turkish Cypriots come alive, where visitors and especially the new generations would find opportunity to get a better understanding of the past and the great efforts exerted by our ancestors to root on this island, Professor Ali Efdal Özkul stated that the core collection of the museum would reflect the history of Turkish Cypriots ranging from 1570s to the present day. "In other words, all tools, materials, documents, traditional clothes and social surroundings concerning the national history of Cyprus Turkish people, whose ancestors set a foot on the island 445 years ago, will be exhibited thematically and chronologically starting from the conquest of Cyprus by the Ottoman Empire. The national history and the struggle for existence and freedom of Turkish Cypriot people, is very unique of its kind. Starting from the date of leaving their motherland Anatolia and settling on the Island of Cyprus, Turkish Cypriot people have reached the present days not only by preserving, embracing their cultural heritage and all material and spiritual values that make a nation a nation but also by conveying these values from one generation to the other generation. For this sake, Turkish Cypriots had faced burdens and given a historic struggle for years. Our aim is to create a museum which will be a learning place for our young people. The young generation needs to know their past and history well before setting out to explore the future. To reflect a great history to new generations, people and visitors, who know a little or nothing about it, is an arduous task. In this regard, Cyprus National History Museum, which will be a place where the history of Turkish Cypriots comes alive, will undertake a crucial role in paving the way for the young generations to take lessons and get to know their national history well before setting out to explore the future" noted he.