A photo exhibition titled "The Journey of Water Through Architecture in Istanbul" has been opened in the Hagia Sophia Museum in light of the 5th World Water Forum that will be held in Istanbul in 2009.

"The exhibition will contribute to the unveiling of cultural remnants of past civilizations that developed through the use of water. For those past societies, that we have inherited much from, water was highly important," said Emine Bağlı, chairwoman of the Cultural Association of Turkish Women (TÃœRKKAD)

The World Water Forum chose TÃœRKKAD to organize the exhibition, Bağlı said in the speech she delivered at the event's opening.

"This exhibition will reflect both the heritage and contemporary societies' perspective of water," she said. The exhibition reflects artistic and technological dimensions of the theme of water through the display of photos of historic structures such as aqueducts, cisterns, water gauges, maksems (ancient domed or vaulted buildings that contained large water tanks), fountains, sebils (charity fountains in the Ottoman Empire) and şadırvans (fountains for ablution in mosque yards). Hagia Sophia Museum President Haluk Dursun said Hagia Sophia itself, with its fountains and cisterns, reflects a rich water culture. Meanwhile, the Saint Vincent and Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, who is currently in Istanbul, paid a visit to the Hagia Sophia Museum and visited the photo exhibition that showcases a total of 25 works by photographer Mehmet Okutan.
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