Responding to msg by [log in to unmask] (oguz kaan
kiziroglu) on
 
> I am seeing that the Turkish historical values are
>collected by European people in means of illegal actions .
>They have stolen the great Bergoman
>temple stone by stone to Berlin, and now try to steal
>the few left historical enrichmnets  . History should stay in
its
>own country.
 
Last I heard, Turkey wasn't around when the Temple of Pergamon
was built.  Perhaps we should return all Picassos to France, or
perhaps to Spain, or perhaps to Barcelona, or perhaps to his
family, or perhaps to Picasso, himself, whereever he may be.
 
Wasn't Pergamon a Greek settlement in those days?  Built and
designed by Hellenistic craftsmen and artisans?  If we have to
redress all claims of past wrongs, we may as well roll history
back to who-knows-when, before the first crime, for there will
be no end to our need satisfy such unrelenting and unremiting
aims.
 
Let's not confuse outright nationalistic greed and boldfaced
chauvinism with respect for the past and past achievements.
Nationalism, ethno-centrism, the assumption that the
personification of a cultural/religious entity as a tangible
reality, can cause considerable trouble.  Tread carefully; not
every claim to the golden bowl holds water.
______________________________________
Robert A. Baron
Museum Computer Consultant
P.O. Box 93, Larchmont, NY 10538
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