Minister Hands Over Angel Statue to Greek Patriarchate, Expands Cultural Heritage Drive

By Bosphorus News Türkiye Desk

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has handed over an angel statue to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul, Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said on March 27, 2026, as the government expands its cultural heritage efforts across excavation, restitution and preservation.

The statue was delivered to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in a formal handover reflecting ongoing coordination over historical and religious artifacts located within Türkiye.

The ministry said the move comes alongside a significant expansion in archaeological activity, with excavation work currently underway across 65 provinces and 776 sites nationwide.

Officials describe the program as part of a broader framework to document, preserve and manage cultural assets, while strengthening institutional oversight over historical artifacts.

Türkiye has also intensified efforts against illicit trafficking in cultural property. Ersoy said 13,451 artifacts have been returned to Türkiye since 2002, pointing to the repatriation of the Marcus Aurelius statue from the United States as one of the most significant recent examples. That broader restitution drive has also included returns from New York, as Bosphorus News previously reported in New York Returns 43 Antiquities to Türkiye

He also said that more than 1.3 million artifacts were seized and transferred to museums between 2020 and 2025, underscoring the scale of the country’s parallel effort to recover smuggled objects and bring them back into the institutional heritage system.

The ministry said these combined efforts form part of a long-term strategy aimed at reinforcing cultural preservation, expanding archaeological research and ensuring that artifacts linked to Türkiye remain accessible within their historical context.r historical context.