Salt turns camera on Anatolian traces

Ankara's Salt Ulus will host screenings of two history documentaries, "Edirne" from 1998 and "Anadolu Mirasi" (Treasures of Anatolia) from 2000 as part of the exhibition Modern Turkey's Discovery of Ottoman Heritage: The Ali Saim Ulgen Archive. Hilmi Etikan's "Edirne" is a documentary that focuses on architectural concepts in Edirne, a historical city in Turkish Thrace on the border with Greece and Bulgaria. "Treasures of Anatolia" by Enis Riza Sakizli is a historical and cultural journey through nine important locations under the protection of UNESCO: Istanbul, Safranbolu, Hattusa, Goreme, Divrigi, Nemrut, Xanthos-Letoon, Pamukkale and Troy. The Ali Saim Ulgen Open Archive project aims to present a cross-section of the state of cultural assets and conservation efforts in Turkey before the 1960s, based on the world of Ali Saim Ulgen, a researcher, architect and specialist in the restoration of classical Ottoman architecture. One of the pioneering architectural restoration experts in Turkey, Ulgen carried out hundreds of restorations not only in Turkey but also in Libya, Jerusalem and Baghdad, collecting and producing all kinds of materials that document historical works, such as construction photographs, newspaper clippings and articles, thus creating an extensive foundation for the books he would subsequently write. The material Ulgen collected during his travels, not only in the course of the administrative duties he assumed during the long years he worked at the General Directorate of Foundations, but also as an aficionado and an academic, has been meticulously preserved posthumously by his family.