Asia Minor is a crossroads between Europe and Asia, a melting pot of cultures and religions. Anatolia has been a home for Hellenism for 30 centuries and a field of creativity, trade, culture but also many battles.
"One is the homeland of blood and drama", as the poet Kostis Palamas described it. The trauma of the Asia Minor Disaster and the uprooting of the Greek communities, 100 years later, is still fresh in our collective psyche. The land across the Aegean Sea has always represented expansion: from the first naval explorations outside the homeland, the Trojan War, the conquests of Alexander the Great and the rich heritage of his successors, until the rise of Christianity and the Byzantine Empire, Anatolia represented the spread of the ideals of Greek culture and birthed famous thinkers, philosophers, humanists and scientists.
During the period of the Eastern Roman Empire, it became the largest and most stable part of the empire. The gospel was first preached there, finding fertile ground in the climate of religious syncretism that accompanied the rich ethnic diversity of the region. The Greek-speaking East became a cradle of Christianity, raising priests, theologians and ascetics. The decline of Medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor begins with the invasion of the Seljuk Turks in the 11th century and ends with the establishment of the Turkish state in 1922.
The virtual exhibition tells the history of Asia Minor through interactive maps. At each location on the map, which displays today's Turkish and its alternative historical names, you will find records illuminating its rich past: coins and artifacts from excavations, travel descriptions and illustrations of landscapes, ancient temples and Byzantine monasteries, historical maps of the region, herbaria, personal items, costumes, and more. Drawings and sketches depicting daily life and social classes in Ottoman Asia Minor, are framed by books of travel and geographical interest on Asia Minor. With the appearance of photography at the end of the 19th century, the testimonies are denser - there is a lot of evidence about the Asia Minor Campaign, mainly the photos of the war correspondents who followed the army, but also letters, postcards and telegrams and they illuminate the last part of the long history Greek presence in Anatolia.
Check out also the exhibitions per region:
The exhibition contains items from the following institutions:
