University Times

The Turkish Nationality Room committee will unveil the design of the latest addition to Pitt’s 26 Nationality Rooms at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 in the William Pitt Union (WPU) lower lounge.

Since 2001, Pittsburgh’s Turkish-American community and Turkish students have been working on the design and raising funds for the new room.

Omer Akin, professor of architecture at Carnegie Mellon University and the architect on the project, finalized the design, which is an interpretation of the bas oda (main room) interior of a traditional Turkish residence. The room also will feature four murals depicting Turkish history.

The Turkish Room committee’s fundraising efforts recently received a major boost with a $150,000 grant from the Republic of Turkey. The committee needs to raise approximately $100,000 more before construction will begin.

In conjunction with the unveiling, a two-day Turkish arts exhibition and sale will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 13 and 14. Featured participants will include Anatolian Artisans and Zeki Findikoglu from Washington, D.C.

Anatolian Artisans, a nonprofit organization led by Yildiz Yagci, helps Turkish artisans market their crafts. A Turkish tent will be erected in the WPU lower lounge to display Yagci’s work. Findikoglu is an artist and professor of fine arts at Montgomery College in Maryland.