Faculty of Fine Arts, Design and Architecture
Faculty of Fine Arts, Design and Architecture
The “Music is in the Museum Project” was launched between Hitit University and the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism in order to increase the interest in museums and ruins in the city.
Within the scope of the project, academicians and students from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Design and Architecture of Hitit University will perform classical music concerts at historical sites such as Alacahöyük, Boğazkale, Yazılıkaya and Şapinova in spring and summer, and in Alacahöyük, Boğazkale and Çorum Museums in winter.
Within the scope of the project, the first music concert was held at the Alacahöyük Ruins, which is 53 kilometers away from the city center, is one of the most important archaeological centers of Anatolia with its 7,000-year history from different civilizations, and is known as the important culture and art center of the Hittites.
The students gave a concert with flute and guitar in front of the “Lion Gate” at the entrance of the historical city.
Visitors of the ancient city had the opportunity to take a journey into history amidst the tones of music.
Deputy Governor Hakan Kubalı said that the Hittites were one of the oldest civilizations in Anatolia.
Kubalı stated that an important legacy has been left from the Hittites to the present, “About 4 thousand years ago, the Hittites lived here, and before that the Hattians lived here. Turkey’s first archaeological excavation started in Alacahöyük, with the signature of the Great Leader Atatürk, in 1935. Therefore, this is an important center. ” said.
Explaining that they implemented the “Music in the Museum” Project in order to attract attention to the archaeological and cultural values in the city, Kubalı stated that they started the project within the framework of the Tourism Week celebration activities.
“We are aware of the richness of our civilization and we want to keep it alive”
Pointing out that they aim to build a bridge between the past and the future with the project, Kubalı said:
“We will be able to organize music events in our museums and archaeological sites and bring our young people here. Not only our young people from Çorum, but also people from Turkey and the world should come here. Let them come and see it. The history of Anatolia for thousands of years is standing tall and the Republic of Turkey protects these values. We are aware of the richness of our civilization. And we want to keep it alive.”
Hitit University Faculty of Fine Arts, Design and Architecture Deputy Dean Assoc. Dr. Ömer Can Satır, on the other hand, said that with the project, they fulfilled the social responsibility of the university to the city, and they also had the opportunity to offer music to people in the historical city ruins of thousands of years.
Stating that they sang the melodies of Anatolia and various cultures, in addition to classical music, Satır stated that the activities that started with the side flute and guitar concerts will continue in a certain period as string instruments, flute, guitar concerts and singing concerts.
Saying that the Hittites were a group intertwined with music, Satır concluded his words as follows:
“The Hittites are a musical society. We see this from archaeological excavations. We observe that there are performance practices from wind instruments to string instruments to percussion instruments. We are trying to maintain the musical culture that was more visible in the Hittites here in the 21st century. Museum activities are nothing new. There are examples in our country. We also want to spread the music activities we organize with our university in Çorum, in the context of such a cultural heritage and a wide museum culture, to its ruins.”
