A new project will be developed in collaboration with Wikipedia. An informative digital resource for the Troy Museum, which can be found in northwestern Turkey’s anakkale region, will be created.
The Troy Museum is located in Tevfikiye, at the entrance to Troy’s ancient city. It dates back 5,500 year and was added to UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage List (1998).
The museum’s three-story structure welcomes visitors with couplets in six languages from The Iliad, an epic in which Homer, an ancient poet, tells the story about the Trojan War. The museum also displays artifacts and finds from the excavations of Troy’s ancient city.
Visitors to the museum can follow the history of the ancient city through the sections. These themes include: “Archaeology of Troas Region,” Troy’s Bronze Age,” Iliad Epic, Trojan War,” Troas and Ilion In Antiquity,” Troas and Ilion in Antiquity,” Eastern Roman Period,” History of Archaeology,” and Traces of Troy.
The Troy Museum is now more well-known than ever, having won the “2020 European Museum of the Year Special Commendation Award” as well as the “2020/2021 European Museum Academy special Mention Award”. The Turkish museum is now focusing on the digital sphere.
Rdvan Glck, Troy Museum Director, told Anadolu Agency that they created the “WikiTroya” project with Wikipedia, the collaborative online encyclopedia created by its users in many different languages with the approval of General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums.
Glck stated that Wikipedia is the first source people use when searching the internet. He added, “We saw we didn’t have enough data and information on the Museum of Troy online. We invited Wikipedia to join our project.
Glck explained that WikiTroya will have a lot of data so that people can “when they wonder, research, and enter the Wikipedia site”, the information on the site will direct them towards Troy, Troy Museum, and anakkale. He also said that the project will cover many areas, such as the ruins, museum, and works in the museum.
The museum director pointed out that one of their goals was to influence people’s travel choices. “We are curious, if we give them detailed information about Troy Museum, will that make it an option for their travel?
“We refer to our age in information terms. We wanted to control the information. We do not want the information about Troy to be shared by visitors from any part of the world, as they see it. We want to bring Troy Museum to life by blending it in with the Anatolian language. We also want to translate the information to other languages. We want to point people to Troy using the information we have presented.
Steps to a successful project
Glck stated the project has several steps. The first will be completed in March. He explained the steps by stating: We will first have a competition with Wikipedia. We will announce which titles are needed for Troy’s introduction and reward Wikipedians who enter the most information within the given time frame.
Wikipedia, which has many sections such as Wikipedia Loves Africa or Wikipedia Loves Art will launch a similar space in the second stage of the project. Wiki Loves Troy will provide a comprehensive dictionary to the Turkish museum.
We will have greater control over Troy-related subjects in the information world. Wikipedia’s cooperation is extremely valuable. Glck said that this amazing project will help us raise and enhance the voice of Troy, Troy Museum, anakkale, and anakkale in digital worlds and in many other languages.
