Story of 130-year-old Ottoman flag from Russia war
An Ottoman flag which was used in the 1877-1878 battles against Russia is being restored in Istanbul.
A 136-year-old Ottoman flag (sanjak) which was used by a battalion sent from the Turkish city of Aydin to fight against the Russian’s in the 1877-1878 war is being restored to its former glory in Istanbul.
Ugur Genc from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s Department of Conservation and Restoration has been in Aydin working on the war banner for the past 5 months.
Genc has noted that it is the third most important surviving banner to be restored after the two that were found in the shrine of Ayyub al-Ansari, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad buried in Istanbul.
‘We have taken all the necessary photographs and completed the sketches of the flag,’ he said. ‘All of in microbiological organisms and insects on the flag have been exterminated and the fibers have been analyzed.’’
He also said that once the restoration is completed, the flag will be displayed in Aydin for 2-3 months.
Unal Yakici, the reeve of the village to which the flag belongs, said that the flag was taken to the Ottoman-Russian war by a group of young soldiers and then given to the local imam on their return.
Commenting on its restoration, Yakici told Turkey’s Yeni Safak newspaper: ‘We are grateful for the restoration of this banner, which carries for us great historical and spiritual value, allowing our upcoming generations to carry it into the future.’
via Story of 130-year-old Ottoman flag from Russia war | Art & Culture | World Bulletin.