World Bulletin / News Desk

The exhibition "Ten Thousand Years of Iran's Civilization and Two Thousand Years of Joint Heritage" will be opened at Istanbul's Topkapi Palace on December 1.

The exhibition is arranged as part of activities of "Turkey-Iran Culture Year" under the auspices of Turkish Ministry of Culture & Tourism and Iranian Presidential Office.

Some 149 pieces from the National Museum of Iran will be displayed during the exhibition, including 58 prehistoric and 48 Islamic artworks, and 12 historical inscriptions.

Visitors will be able to see the collections in the exhibition pertaining to Iranian civilization which have not been exhibited in Turkey before.

Within the scope of the exhibition, Turkey-Iran relations could be examined with references to political, economic and cultural contexts.

The exhibition will feature artifacts from Topkapi Palace Museum and National Museum of Iran as well as collections from Istanbul Archeology Museum, Sadberk Hanim Museum and the Military Museum of Istanbul.

Some of the artifacts to be displayed are 'Majmuah Timuri-Shiraz', dated Muharram 801 (September 1398), 'Crescent Topper' from Safavid period dated 16th-17th Century and 'Plate with Hunting Scene' fron Sassanid Period dated 379-383.

Topkapi Palace was the official and primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for 400 years of their 600-year reign, from 1465 to 1856. The palace was a setting for state occasions and royal entertainments and is a major tourist attraction today, containing the most holy relics of the Muslim world such as the prophet Muhammed's cloak and sword. Topkapi Palace is among those monuments belonging to the "Historic Areas of Istanbul", which became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.