TEL AVIV

An exhibition of model houses featuring the historic Istanbul houses opened at the Turkish Cultural Center in Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Sunday.

Titled “Memories of My Childhood”, the exhibition showcases the works of Jewish artist Joseph Sibi.

Born in 1943 in Istanbul, Sibi, who is a medical specialist in urology, lived in Istanbul until he moved to Israel in 1969.

In his keynote speech during the exhibition, Sibi said his works reflect his childhood memories in Istanbul.

Among almost 90 model houses in the exhibition were historical Istanbul houses, including the house where Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, was born in Thessaloniki and sanctuaries of different religions.

Sibi said he has been working on these model houses for almost 35 years and each model house took him at least three or four months to make.

"These houses belong to Istanbul, not here, because even if I try to tell everything in detail, it won't be enough to explain Istanbul to the people here. "

Tolga Budak, Turkey's charge d'affaires in Tel Aviv, said the main aim of the exhibition was to emphasize on the ties between Turkey and Israel.

Budak said Israelis were interested in Turkey and this exhibition aimed to increase their attention.

The exhibition will run for three months on Thursdays and Fridays.