On Sept. 16, 1890, a typhoon pushed the Ottoman Navy sailing frigate Ertugrul onto rocks off the beach of Kushimoto in Wakayama Prefecture. The ship was returning from Japan with goodwill messengers from the Ottoman Empire, and the accident killed more than 500 of those on board. Local residents of Kushimoto, however, managed to help rescue 69 of its sailors and officers, who were later returned to their homeland on Japanese warships.
This incident is often referred to in both Japan and Turkey as a seminal point in founding the relationship between the two countries.
In 2008, underwater excavations started around the area of the accident, and this exhibition presents a number of the Ertugrul relics that were discovered, together with information about their excavation, restoration, and preservation; till Nov. 6.
Osaka MariTime Museum; (06) 4703-2900; 2-5-20 Nanko Kita, Suminoe-ku, Osaka; 8-min. walk from Cosmo Square Station (Exit 1), Chuo Line. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. ¥600. Closed Mon.; open holidays and closed the following day. www.jikukan-ogbc.jp.
