Istanbul. January 20, Armenpress: Some 6,000 people have visited an exhibition, devoted to Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in the early 20-th century, that opened in Turkish Istanbul on January 8, a record number of visitors for local galleries.
Entitled “My Dear Brother” the exhibition has on display around 500 old photographs, postcards and other exhibits, showing how the most matured Armenian community lived in the empire and what role it played in the society.
“Turkish schools and universities taught only the history of Turks as if no other people lived in this territory. When we speak about Armenians, we regard them not as part of the society, but as a hotbed of problems,” the gallery director, Osman Koker, was quoted by France Press as saying.
He said he decided to also write a book to fill the historic gaps. “It would be impossible to talk about what happened in 1915 without these preliminary steps,” he said, adding that he was well aware that it is not an easy task to change the people’s way of thinking.
“Until now a sizeable segment of the society, especially in rural areas, take the word “Armenian” as an offense,” he said.
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