"Art: In Turkey, easy access for thieves
By Sebnem Arsu
Published: June 14, 2006
ISTANBUL The theft of rare artifacts from a remote museum is focusing attention on how casually Turkey guards its art treasures, even ones it once fought to reclaim from institutions abroad like the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Turkey is home to about 3,000 ancient cities and is thought to have more ancient Greek artifacts than Greece. The government runs 93 museums and more than 140 open-air archaeological sites. But a shortfall of funds makes it difficult to guard those museums and sites or even catalogue their contents accurately."
More:Art: In Turkey, easy access for thieves - Arts & Leisure - International Herald Tribune
