“The Adam Mickiewicz Museum is a beautiful symbol of respect for history and Polish heritage in Turkey. I hope that the Museum will continue to develop and bring closer the figure of this outstanding Pole in Turkey,” wrote the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Culture, National Heritage and Sport Piotr Gliński in the museum’s book of commemorations.
During the symbolic opening of the rearranged exhibition at the Adam Mickiewicz Museum in Istanbul, Deputy Prime Minister Gliński stressed that the unofficial purpose of Adam Mickiewicz’s journey to Constantinople, now Istanbul, in September 1855, had been an attempt to form Polish troops to fight against imperial Russia.
“The building we are in today stands on the spot where the poet spent the last few months of his life. On the centenary of Mickiewicz’s death, the first exposition was set up here. I hope that the exhibition, which you can see today, will contribute to the popularization and preservation of the memory of this outstanding Pole among the citizens of Istanbul as well as the numerous tourists visiting the city” – said Minister of Culture, National Heritage, and Sport Piotr Gliński.
He pointed out that the Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sports attaches great importance to preserving the memory of eminent Poles who, as a result of complicated historical events or personal decisions, found themselves outside the borders of Poland. For years, activities in these areas have been carried out, among others, through numerous exhibitions devoted to Polish literary artists.
“As examples, it is worth mentioning the Joseph Conrad Korzeniowski Museum in Berdyczów, the Juliusz Słowacki Museum in Krzemieniec, and the Witold Gombrowicz Museum in Vence” – it was written in the communiqué of MKDNiS.
The aforementioned exhibitions, as well as the one devoted to Adam Mickiewicz in Istanbul, are realized by the Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sport and the Adam Mickiewicz Museum of Literature in Warsaw.
During the visit to the Mickiewicz Museum in Istanbul, Deputy Prime Minister Gliński was accompanied by representatives of the Turkish government and city authorities as well as representatives of the Lithuanian and Ukrainian consulates in Istanbul.
At the end of the visit, Minister Gliński thanked the director of the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, of which the Adam Mickiewicz Museum is a branch, for taking care of such an important place for Poles.
“The house where Adam Mickiewicz lived and died was visited by many Poles after the poet’s death” – Minister pointed out.