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  • ANKARA: New exhibition documents history of Turkish currency

    Today's Zaman, Turkey
    June 1 2008



    New exhibition documents history of Turkish currency


    Yapı Kredi Bank is showcasing an exhibition exploring the
    history of paper money in Turkey from the Ottoman Empire to the
    present at the Yapı Kredi Culture Center`s Vedat Nedim
    Tör Museum.

    Titled `Ä°mparatorluktan Cumhuriyete KaÄ?ıt
    Paranın Ã-yküsü' (The Story of Paper Money
    from the Empire to the Republic), the exhibition in Ä°stanbul
    showcases a number of very important collections of Turkish currency
    and includes around 500 exhibits. The pieces on display come from the
    private collections of Mehmet GacıroÄ?lu, Tunç
    Buyurgan, Haldun Akayaz, Mehmet Tezçakın, Rıfat
    Dönmez and Güçlü Kayral as well as the
    Yapı Kredi Bank, Ottoman Bank Museum and Mint collections.

    Curator Güçlü Kayral says everyone feels the urge
    to hoard and that collectors simply act on this impulse in a more
    systematic way, constructing a history. `This exhibition is a very
    important chance for collectors to share their collections with
    others. Thanks to the Mint manager, we had the chance to showcase
    paper bills that had not been seen for ages,' Kayral told Sunday`s
    Zaman.

    Covering a period of 168 years, the exhibition sheds new light on
    Turkey`s economic history. The most important pieces in the exhibition
    are the Ottoman Empire`s first paper bills, released in 1840 to
    finance the Tanzimat era reforms. Kayral explains that the bills on
    display are the only remaining examples from this period in the
    world. They were all written by hand in a special language used by the
    Ottoman state and feature the sultan`s seal.

    `During the Ottoman Empire, paper bills were always used as a way of
    overcoming periods of crisis,' Kayral explains. `After some time new
    bills were released for the Crimean War, then the 1893 war and then
    World War I,' he adds. With the Crimean War came the empire`s first
    foreign debt, which it was unable to repay.

    In this problematic economic process, the absence of coins caused
    serious problems, making it difficult for citizens to buy and sell
    goods. They were thus forced to come up with their own solutions: In
    the 1870s churches began to release their own bills in order to
    collect money for candles and donations. After some time these became
    commonly used, and then municipalities began releasing their own
    bills.

    There were also people who printed their own money when they needed
    it. Enver Pasha released his own money during the Tripoli
    campaign. Esat Pasha did the same in Albania. During World War I, the
    British brought their own money, printed in both English and Ottoman
    Turkish, to Gallipoli, because they were so confident of their
    victory. Together with examples of the currencies mentioned above, the
    exhibition also includes multilingual bills in Greek, Armenian, Hebrew
    and Ottoman Turkish. The first bills of the Republican era, bearing
    the image of Atatürk, just as today`s Turkish currency does,
    and then later those with an image of President Ä°smet
    Ä°nönÃ& #xBC; are also on display. One intriguing section
    features a number of forgeries -- a problem as old as money itself.

    Vedat Nedim Tör Museum Director Å?ennur
    Å?entürk explains that in order to present the exhibition
    to the public in the best possible way, they requested help from
    people who knew the topic best. `Professor Ali Akyıldız
    was our academic adviser on the history of the economy. We also
    showcase his and Güçlü Kayral`s texts together
    with the paper bills,' she noted.

    `The Story of Paper Money from the Empire to the Republic'

    Open weekdays 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and
    Sundays 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. until Aug. 31.

    Address: Yapı Kredi Kültür Merkezi,
    Ä°stiklal Caddesi No. 161-161A, BeyoÄ?lu, Ä°stanbul

    Web: www.ykykultur.com.tr

    01 June 2008, Sunday


    RUMEYSA KIGER Ä°STANBUL
    From: Baghdasarian
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