The Turkish Pavilion by the setting Neolithic Catalhoyuk

The Turkish Pavilion reflects the theme of Expo 2010 Shanghai, not only with its impressive architecture, but also the interior design. Throughout history, Anatolia has hosted many civilizations, became a transit route for thousands of years of civilization and still has influences from east and west. The new findings reflect Anatolia as the most evolved example of old and fascinating history of civilization. In a sense the main theme of EXPO 2010 ‘Better Cities, Better Lives”defines this region of Turkey. The theme of the Turkish pavilion was inspired by one of the first settlements in history, Catalhoyuk or Çatalhöyük, an important center of Neolithic Age, dating back to 7500 BC

The lovely red ground featuring the facade of the Pavilion has a very special significance because it inspired the mural to be the oldest map of the world and the first performance of a landscape found at the site of the first human settlement of Catalhoyuk. The red color that covers the entire pavilion and forms reproduced concur with buildings represented in the mural. Below the red outer coating are scenes of hunting, cattle and deer now extinct drawn from the same paintings. The black glass surfaces used are based, however, the stone of obsidian used in trade and symbolizing the welfare and better life of Anatolian cities.

Through a thematic scenery, visitors to the Pavilion turkish witness works of art from the Neolithic civilization and urban developments to date. The first section entitled “Past, present a journey through history, from the primitive shelters to the most advanced huts, furniture used, tools for construction, technical developments and the first tools for agriculture. There are also the first mirror of the history, the first bottle, the first artificial dam and the model of Catalhoyuk, the first urban map of the Neolithic period.

In the middle section, a video plays at 360 ° scenes of street life in Istanbul to reflect the pride of the city as European Capital of Culture 2010. Hence, in the final section, visitors can meet the future represented by the symbolic figure of the phoenix, a mythical bird that dies in flames and is reborn from the ashes, to embody the aspirations for the future.