Meanwhile in the Mountains: Sagalassos

Yapı Kredi Cultural Activities, Arts and Publishing Inc. is hosting the exhibition “Meanwhile in the Mountains: Sagalassos”. Occupying three floors at Yapı Kredi Cultural Centre in Beyoğlu, the exhibition introduces visitors to the ancient city of Sagalassos, founded on the southern slopes of the Taurus mountain range, and the history of the region of Pisidia. The most comprehensive archaeological project carried out in recent years “Meanwhile in the Mountains: Sagalassos” is the result of a collaboration of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Directorate General for Cultural Heritage and Museums and KU Leuven University, Belgium, and their support of the Sagalassos Archaeological Research Project. Displaying 368 objects from Burdur Archaeology Museum, the exhibition is open to visitors at Yapı Kredi Cultural Centre 27 November 2019 – 23 August 2020. One of the best-preserved ancient cities of the Mediterranean, Sagalassos is included in the Tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

From Statues of Gods and Goddesses to Mammoth Bones
The exhibition, “Meanwhile in the Mountains: Sagalassos”, contains many and divergent historical objects: from mammoth bones from the Burdur region proving that they lived in prehistorical Anatolia, to the massive statues of the Roman emperors Marcus Aurelius and Hadrian. Objects like the terracotta figurines of gods, goddesses and heroes reflecting belief rituals, a statuette of Alexander the Great, stone tools, decorative items, cooking and food vessels from Sagalassos and the region of Pisidia from different periods, shed a light on the past and the daily and social life of the residents of ancient Sagalassos and these can be viewed in chronological and thematic sections covering three floors at the Yapı Kredi Cultural Centre.

Visitors Will Be Welcomed by Rome’s Last Good Emperor
At the entrance to the museum visitors will be received by the statue of emperor Marcus Aurelius that was unearthed at the Roman Baths at Sagalassos. Originally, approximately five meters high and carved in white marble, the head, arms and legs are displayed at the exhibition. The restoration of the Antonin Fountain at Sagalassos, which was built in the reign of Marcus Aurelius, was completed in 2010. The head of Emperor Hadrian, who named Sagalassos Pisidia’s ‘first city’, can also be seen at the exhibition. The emperors Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius are among Rome’s Five Good emperors.

Meet the Pisidians
Experts have recreated the faces belonging to the skulls found during the Sagalassos excavation of a Roman man dated to the 3rd century BC and to a Byzantine woman dated to the 11th century. Excavation director Jeroen Poblome, who characterizes face reconstruction as a combination of science and creativity, notes that the digital face reconstructions have an accuracy of 75%. The Pisidians, whose real names are unknown, have been named Rhodon and Eirènè by the research team. With the busts of Rhodon and Eirènè having been brought to the exhibition, visitors will have the opportunity to meet ancient Pisidians.

The Exhibition Extends Across Three Floors of the Yapı Kredi Cultural Centre
“Meanwhile in the Mountains: Sagalassos” is shown across three floors of Yapı Kredi Cultural Centre. On the first floor is a multifaceted presentation of the Sagalassos excavations, which is an interdisciplinary research project that commenced in 1990. Shown with the excavations are also Sagalassos and the Pisidian terrain it is part of, along with the geology, vegetation cover, belief system, gods, people, fauna and flora.

On the second floor are the primeval periods with artefacts from the Bronze Age, when Sagalassos was founded, the Hellenistic Period, the Roman Period and the Byzantine Period arranged chronologically. The Upper Agora unearthed during the Sagalassos excavations as well as the best examples of statues of emperors, gods and heroes recovered there are also on show here.

The third floor comprises thematic sections about ancient economy, quality of life, dietary habits and kitchen utensils, how people dealt with death, and the characteristics of death.  Visitors are received by a statue of the goddess of agriculture and abundance, Demeter with the beautiful hair. This section also contains a reconstruction of the rock temple to which it is believed the people of Sagalassos focused their votive observance and from which hundreds of terracotta figurines were recovered. With its interdisciplinary approach and restoration work, the Sagalassos excavations that have been conducted by Sagalassos Archaeological Research Project since 1990 occupies a very important place within the international scientific community. The exhibition also offers visitors a chance to see these scientific studies in one place.

The project’s scientific consultancy is undertaken by Professor at KU Leuven University and Sagalassos Excavation Director Jeroen Poblome, the coordination by Director of Yapı Kredi Museum Nihat Tekdemir and the design by Pattu Mimarlık. The photographs of the objects brought to the exhibition and all the landscape photographs used at the exhibition were shot by the Belgian photographers Bruno Vandermeulen and Danny Veys.

Exhibition Book
The exhibition is accompanied by a comprehensive book featuring all the historical stages of Sagalassos and the region of Pisidian where it was located. The book “Meanwhile in the Mountains: Sagalassos” is produced in Turkish and English by Yapı Kredi Publications and is the publisher’s 5500th book. It contains 27 articles; each written in the light of the latest current data by experts in their field, and this makes it the most up to date reference book on Pisidia and Sagalassos.

Conference
In the evening following the opening of the exhibition 27 November, visitors will also have the chance to join the conference presented by the excavation director Professor Jeroen Poblome. The conference will be held at 18.30 at Yapı Kredi Cultural Centre, Loca.

"Meanwhile in the Mountains: Sagalassos" Exhibition is Extended

The exhibition "Meanwhile in the Mountains: Sagalassos", which was opened at the Yapı Kredi Museum on November 27, 2019, and accepted as the most comprehensive archeology project of recent years, is extended until August 23, 2020.

The exhibition, prepared by Yapı Kredi Cultural Activities, Arts and Publishing and visited by 80 thousand people before, has been closed for a while due to the pandemic. The exhibition, whose three-dimensional virtual tour was visited by 40 thousand people since March, will open its doors again on June 8, 2020.
In accordance with the measures taken for Covid-19, we kindly request our visitors to comply with the following rules:
- The body temperature of each visitor will be checked by security guards at the entrance of the museum. Visitors with high fever will be not allowed inside and will be directed to the nearest health institution.
- Nobody will be allowed to the museum without a mask.
- One may use hand disinfectants at the entrance of the museum and inside.
- One may use the mask waste box at the exit of the building in case of need.
- Within the museum, there can be ± 5 people on each floor at the same time. (Except security guards) It is intended that the number of visitors in the museum should not exceed 15 people on average.
- Our visitors are kindly requested to take care of the distance between each other.
- Our visitors are kindly requested to comply with the warnings and directions of the security guards.
- All areas open to contact are periodically disinfected.
- Our ventilation is renewed following the pandemic process.