Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy revealed that Greece recently returned 1,055 ancient coins smuggled from Turkey during the first Turkey-Greece Culture Forum in Cappadocia earlier this month.
The coins were returned after being seized by Greek authorities in 2025 and identified as having been illegally removed from Turkey, according to a June 6 statement from the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry.
Ersoy explained that the forum was formed to “strengthen cultural bridges between the two societies.”
Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni was also present at the forum.
The visit included a trip to the Tokali (Buckle) Church in Cappadocia, where the two ministers were able to “examine our cultural heritage sites” and review the status of the restoration work being done there, Ersoy said in a post to X/Twitter.
“The launch of the first Greece-Turkey Cultural Forum here, in Cappadocia, a place of unique historical and cultural significance, where peoples, traditions, religions and civilizations have met for centuries, leaving an extremely dense and multi-layered imprint on the history of the wider region, lends special symbolism to our meeting today,” said Mendoni in at the ceremony.
“Culture,” she noted. “is not just another area of bilateral cooperation. It is perhaps the deepest and most enduring field of communication between our societies.”
“History has brought our two peoples together for centuries, creating interactions, exchanges, shared experiences and mutual influences that have been imprinted in memory, art, architecture, language and the very cities and landscapes of the Eastern Mediterranean.”
“Its protection is not only a national obligation. It is a universal responsibility. It is an act of respect for historical memory and future generations,” she said.
The two ministers held several talks regarding future cooperation between the two countries in the field of culture and the fight against antiquities trafficking.
Further, Ersoy reaffirmed Turkey’s commitment to supporting Greece in its fight to return the Parthenon Statues from the United Kingdom, as well as any resolutions spearheaded by the Mediterranean country regarding the return of artifacts to their home countries.
He stressed that Turkey’s support reflects the importance the country places on preserving cultural heritage within its historical and cultural context.
Combatting the illegal trafficking of antiquities “would be a gain not only for both countries but for humanity’s shared memory and the scientific world as a whole,” said Ersoy.
