CLEAR WORDS, CRYSTAL SOUNDS

The 1000th Anniversary of the Sparrow Harbour Glass Wreck 

The 5th International Marmaris Culture and Arts Festival will take place between 2 and 12 May 2026.

Festival Theme:

In the year 1025, a Byzantine merchant ship made her way along the southern coast of Anatolia, laden with a precious cargo of glass. Seeking refuge from fierce easterly winds, she entered Sparrow Harbour—but before a second anchor could be set, the ship was driven onto the rocks and sank, coming to rest 33 meters beneath the sea, where she would lie hidden for nearly a thousand years.

Günümüzden bakıldığında böyle yaşandığı varsayılan bu trajik hikâyenin kalıntıları, 1977–1979 yılları arasında keşfedilip kazısı yapılan Cam Batığı’dır. Bugün Bodrum Sualtı Arkeoloji Müzesi’nde sergilenen bu batık, denizcilik arkeolojisinin dünyadaki en önemli keşiflerinden biri kabul edilmektedir.

The remainder of this tragic story, presumably told from today’s perspective, is the Glass Wreck, discovered and excavated between 1977 and 1979. Now exhibited at the Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology, it stands as one of the most significant discoveries in nautical archaeology.

Coinciding with the 1000th anniversary of its sinking in 2026, the MKSF26 programme is dedicated to the Glass Wreck. As part of our Festival Programme, we celebrate the lasting cultural, historical and maritime heritage of the Glass Wreck, and return the story of this ill-fated ship to the waters where it was lost.

For more information about the Glass Wreck and its valuable cargo, we recommend visiting the website of the INA (Institute of Nautical Archaeology) Bodrum Research Centre , which also houses the Bodrum Underwater Archaeology Museum.