Back	Symposia in Conjunction with the Exhibition of Ottoman Orders and Decorations: DIPLOMACY AND RELATIONS WITH THE WEST The Ottoman Bank Museum is organizing a series of conferences relating to the special exhibition, Pride and Privilege: An Exhibition of Ottoman Orders and Decorations, which opened to the public on September 28. Each symposium will bring together scholars from various arenas to examine the exhibition from one of four different viewpoints: diplomacy, ideology, history of art and the emergence of charitable associations. On Tuesday, October 12, at 6:00 p.m., our first guest speakers, Prof. Ehem Eldem, curator of the exhibition, and researcher Sinan Kuneralp, will discuss Ottoman orders and decorations from the perspective of the Empire's diplomatic relations with the West. The tradition of orders and decorations began with the Ottoman-English alliance established towards the end of the 18th century, and developing in close connection with the growing interaction between the Ottoman Empire and the West, rapidly gained impetus in the second half of the 19th century, to soon become fully adapted to the European model. In the hands of Ottoman rulers, these symbols of honor and distinction, evolved into major diplomatic instruments and provide us today with fascinating insights into the origins and progression of the relations between Turkey and Europe. The exhibition, Pride and Privilege: Ottoman Orders and Decorations, chronicling the 120-year long saga of the tradition of orders and decorations in the Ottoman Empire, was curated by Prof. Edhem Eldem from the Department of History at Boğaziçi University. Editor and researcher, Sinan Kuneralp's areas of investigation include Ottoman diplomacy and the administrative and political history of the period from the Tanzimat to World War I. He is currently working on the administrative history of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For further information on this free symposium presented by the Ottoman Bank Museum, please call (212) 334 22 70.