UPDATE - Turkey presents historic Jesus, saint icons to Istanbul patriarch

UPDATES WITH BATHOLOMEW'S REMARKS; ADDS DETAILS ABOUT OPERATION ANADOLU

By Anadolu Agency Staff

ANKARA/CANAKKALE, Turkey (AA) - Turkey on Tuesday delivered icons that had been stolen from historical local churches to Istanbul’s Fener Greek Patriarch Bartholomew.

At a ceremony at the Canakkale Troy Museum in northwestern Turkey, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy presented the icons to Bartholomew, demonstrating Turkey's protective attitude towards the nation's cultural assets regardless of the belief, language, or race involved.

The 12 artifacts, including depictions of Jesus and Christian saints, had previously been stolen from historical churches on Tenedos Island in the Aegean Sea.

Expressing his gratitude to Ersoy, Bartholomew said: "The icons are regarded as sacred relics in our religion. Of course, we do not worship the wood or paint. We pray before the figures on the icons: The saints, (female) saints, especially Jesus and Mother Mary. And, our churches that preserve the icons are our most precious places of worship."

"We attach great importance to the depictions and icons that we use to pray in these churches and if they are taken away or stolen in any way, we experience great sadness," he added.

The Patriarch went on to thank Turkish security forces for recovering the icons and the ministry for delivering them to the Christian World on behalf of his community.

During his speech Ersoy said the artifacts were recovered in Operation Anadolu, a comprehensive effort by counter-smuggling teams conducted in Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Turkey simultaneously.

He added that as many as 4,122 historical artifacts were seized in the operation before they were smuggled abroad.

Ersoy further emphasized that Turkey would remain determined to fight such crimes.

The artifacts were stolen from historical churches, including the Panagia Kimisis Church, in the Zeytinli, Eski Bademli, and Derekoy neighborhoods of the island.

In 2007, the local gendarmerie command conducted a successful operation to get back the icons.

Kept under protection at the Canakkale Archeology Museum due to controversies over ownership, the cultural assets were recovered by the ministry through a court challenge.

- Operation Anadolu

The icons presented to the Patriarch Bartholomew and thousands of other artifacts were recovered in a raid, dubbed Operation Anadolu, conducted simultaneously in 30 provinces.

This came after the prosecutors in the southern Adana province issued arrest warrants on 93 suspects after identification and gathering evidence.

Anti-smuggling and organized crimes units raided 108 locations and arrested 78 suspects, including five collectors.

A total of 9,276 artifacts that were reportedly unearthed in illegal excavations were seized in the operation.

The total number of artifacts that have been seized in Turkey, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Serbia during the two-year investigation reached a total of 23,205 so far.

* Writing by Dilan Pamuk and Gozde Bayar