Chile's Embassy in Türkiye holds exhibition to mark 500th anniversary of Magellan’s voyage

By Zehra Nur Duz

ANKARA (AA) - The Chilean Embassy in Türkiye organized an exhibition Tuesday in the capital of Ankara to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Ferdinand Magellan’s voyage.

The exhibition, “Encounter of Three Worlds: 500 Years After the First Circumnavigation of the Earth” was held at the Presidential Nation’s Library.

“The voyage of Magellan represents a milestone in the human history for being the first-ever circumnavigation of the Earth, in addition to several other historical geographical, political and economic aspects, which should be recognized and highlighted,” said Ambassador Rodrigo Arcos.

“With the completion of the voyage, it was revealed that the roundness of the earth, the existence of a passage to reach the east by traveling westward as well as the existence of the new continent, the wide variety of people that are inhabitants and the cultural difference between them, in other words, the beginning of a universal story, and the beginning of globalization,” he said.

Arcos underlined the significance of the feat, saying the territory that is currently considered the Republic of Chile had never appeared in western history before Magellan’s expedition.

“The fact that they held this exhibition in Türkiye has a special meaning since the Ottoman Empire was one of the central actors in the process of searching the new ways of communication and trade with Asia, and with the east,” said Arcos.

Arcos also said that the event is a part of the rapprochement process between the National Library of Chile and the Türkiye Presidential Nation’s Library.

In Chile, Magellan’s voyage constitutes what was in practice the first sighting of the national territory by Europeans.