Exhibition on Mediterranean shipping inaugurated

An exhibition entitled ‘Unfurl Sails: the Mediterranean and its ship’, which links Malta’s geographic position with its culture of shipping, was inaugurated today by the parliamentary secretary for research and innovation, Chris Agius.

The exhibition is being housed at the Malta Maritime Museum in Vittoriosa. Amongst the items on display are 21 panels depicting the history of the Mediterranean, six panels with various ships types, eight scale models of ships including a model of a Bronze Age ship, two animations of the Mediterranean in Antiquity and in the Middle Ages, and 40 pen drawings of Mediterranean vessels and galley-sheds.

The event aims to provide an indication of Mediterranean’s importance throughout history as a zone of contact and transmission.  It exposes how the Middle Sea, its ships, and people have played an important role in human history.

It also strives to offer an interface of the means by which the region influenced the rest of the world through various developments over time.

Also in attendance for the opening were Ayse Sezgen, Turkish Ambassador to Malta, and Murat Arslan, the director of the Mediterranean Civilisations Research Institute (MCRI) at the Akdeniz University, in Turkey.

Furthermore, the MCRI, themselves organizers of the exhibition, plan to take the works on tour to other Mediterranean countries. Professor Israfil Kurtcephe, rector of Akdeniz University, also showed his support for the exhibition, whilst Turkish Airlines sponsored the initiative by flying 700 kilograms of exhibition material, panels, drawings and ship models from Antalya to Malta.

The exhibition will remain on display up till the 1st of May.