Exhibition on Mexico's codices opens in Turkish capital

By Dilan Pamuk

ANKARA (AA) – The Mexican Embassy inaugurated the exhibition, Codices of Mexico. The Ancient Books of the New World, in the Turkish capital Ankara, it said on Wednesday.

The display consists "21 facsimiles of the most outstanding codices preserved by different international museums and national libraries throughout the world," the embassy said in a statement.

The codices, which belong to the Borgia, Boturini and Magliabecchiano, Maya, Mexico and Mixteco groups, were made on amate paper, deerskin and European paper.

In the opening ceremony, curator Alesha Mercado said the codices, preserved from the pre-Columbian period to the present day, tell us about the complex structures of Mesoamerican peoples, and the way they see and understand the world.

José Luis Martínez y Hernández, Mexico's ambassador to Turkey, said the displayed codices are evidence of the advanced cultural development of the ancient civilizations that lived in that region.

“For Mexico, the codices and their content are essential to get closer to our pre-Columbian past, being one of the few historical records of the way in which Mesoamerican indigenous groups lived and thought before the arrival of the Spanish and in the first years of the Viceroyalty,” he said.

He added that the exhibition “aims to serve as a bridge between Mexico and Turkey, two countries with important ancient civilizations." It will remain open for art lovers through Aug. 27.