[CPProt.net] Nine items stolen from Istanbul museum (burglary and theft depot)

[MSN CPPnet]

Nine items stolen from Istanbul museum


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Associated Press, THE JERUSALEM POST  Jun. 29, 2005 

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Thieves broke into a depot at Istanbul's Topkapi Palace museum and ran off
with nine Ottoman artifacts, officials and police said Wednesday. 

The thieves broke in through a small window at the back of a museum depot on
Monday, a police officer said on condition of anonymity. Museum officials
later reported that nine items were missing, the Istanbul governor's office
said in a statement. 

The depot houses mostly damaged items that were not on display. 

The stolen items include a damaged tablet with Ottoman Sultan Mahmud I's
signature, the signature of Sultan Abdulhamid I on rotting paper, two
worn-out shawls and a folding screen decorated with star-shaped
mother-of-pearl. 

Police and Culture Ministry officials were investigating the theft. 

The Topkapi palace was home to Ottoman sultans for some 400 years, until
1839. Turned into a museum in 1924, its harem and a priceless oval diamond
the size of an egg attract thousands of visitors. 

The museum was featured in the 1960s jewel-heist movie "Topkapi," starring
Peter Ustinov and Melina Mercouri, in which thieves plot to steal the
diamond. 

Topkapi is one of the best-protected museums in Turkey, with security
cameras and alarm systems.