Sabancı University Sakıp Sabancı Museum (SSM) hosted a very important exhibition under the main sponsorship of ÇİMSA. The exhibition, entitled “Across - The Cyclades and Western Anatolia During the 3rd Millennium BC” was composed of artifacts from various Turkish museums as well as the National Archaeological Museum of Athens and the N. P. Goulandris Foundation Museum of Cycladic Art. The exhibition examined the relations between Anatolia, where the first steps towards civilization took place, and the nearby Cyclades Islands in the Aegean that gave rise to reciprocal influence that created two cultures which while similar in many respects, nonetheless maintained distinctive regional characteristics. The exhibition that also marked the first official cooperation between museums from Turkey and Greece was open to visit between 24th of May – 28th of August 2011.
A 14 meters long exact replica model of the Cycladic Ships, stood out as one of the most interesting pieces of the exhibition. The replica showed the impact of the Cycladic Ships on the interaction between the two cultures, as the ships were the only way of transportation between the two sides of the Aegean for a long time. The ships were built by Ankara University Research Center for Maritime Archaeology as a part of the “Cycladic Ships Revival Project” and without any binder materials or nails, by taking advantage of the swelling nature of the wood when goes into contact with water.
