Rome Hosts Turkish Religious Art Exhibition

TODAY'S ZAMAN

Exhibition is opened with a special opening ceremony. Curator of the exhibit is Mehmet Lütfi Şen (L).

ITALY - An exhibition featuring classic and contemporary examples of Hilye-i Şerif --literary portraits of the Prophet Muhammad -- and prayer beads is under way in Rome, drawing huge interest from people of other religions in the city. The exhibition, which began on Oct. 1 and will run through Oct. 19, is titled “Aşk-I Nebi Sanat Olunca” (When the love for the Prophet Muhammad becomes an art). It opened at the Palazzo della Cancelleria, regarded as the first palace built in the Renaissance style in Rome, with a special reception. This is the first time that a Hilye-i Şerif exhibition has been held outside of Turkey. Hilye-i Şerif is a description of the personal virtues and the qualities of the Prophet Muhammad. Focusing on the importance of art without any racial, religious or linguistic discrimination, Mehmet Çelebi, the artist of about 25 pieces in the exhibition, said: “[The] Western world doesn’t know our traditional and religious art, we have failed to introduce our art outside of Turkey. [link]