13th Meeting of Academic Council of the IICAS
Dr. Mehmet Kalpaklı, Chair of Bilkent's History Department, represented Turkey in the 13th meeting of Academic Council of the UNESCO-sponsored International Institute for Central Asian Studies (IICAS). Having 10 full members states, including Turkey, IICAS raises awareness in the international community of historical and cultural issues regarding Central Asia and provides opportunities for collaboration among local and international scholars. Dr. Kalpaklı represents Turkey on the Academic Council, which includes in addition to Turkey: Azerbaijan, China, Iran, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, UNESCO, and IICAS.
The topic of the academic symposium that accompanied the meeting, held in Antalya on October 14 to 16, was "An Integral Study of the Silk Roads: Roads of Dialogue" and included academic contributions from Bilkent University and sponsorship by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey. Prof. Dr. Nejat Diyarbekirli, scholar in the field of early Turkish art, was the keynote speaker. Bilkent University scholars gave fully half of the papers.
Dr. Paul Latimer of the history department set the stage for the discussion by introducing the idea of a two-way route of exchange in his brief history of what is usually called the Silk Road. Dr. Latimer made the point, therefore, that the trading route should be called the Silk Roads, in the plural.
Dr. Mehmet Kalpaklı drew attention to the Silk Roads as they were mentioned in travel book of Evliya Çelebi. Dr. Hakan Kırımlı of the International Relations Department interpreted the exchange on the Silk Roads from a perspective of international politics. Prof. Özer Ergenç, Bilkent History Department focused on two Ottoman cities on the Silk Roads: Ankara and Bursa. Öcal Oğuz, vice-president of Turkish National Commission for Turkey and visiting professor in Bilkent's Department of Turkish Literature, underlined the importance of safeguarding intangible heritage through the Silk Roads. Neslihan Demirkol Sönmez, Ph.D. candidate in Bilkent's Turkish Literature Department, presented a panorama of studies on the Silk Roads in international institutions.