They collected stones in Antalya… Belgian couple arrested for ‘smuggling’
A couple from Antwerp, Belgium, who went to Antalya on vacation, were banned from traveling abroad because they collected three pieces of stone to put in their home aquarium.
According to Yusuf Özkan of the Turkish BBC, the Belgian couple, detained on suspicion of smuggling historical objects, will not be able to leave Antalya until the archaeological investigation is completed.
According to Belgian media, the couple named Kim and Warre completed their vacation on Friday and headed to Antalya airport to return to their country. The security guards said there was a problem with the suitcase and took the couple to a separate corner.
The officers took three pieces of stone from the suitcase and informed the police. The couple, who were not allowed to board the flight to Belgium, were locked in a police cell at the airport. The Belgian couple, who were brought to court on suspicion of smuggling historical objects, were released on Sunday on condition that they be banned from traveling abroad.
THE STONES WILL BE EXAMINED
The Belgian couple will not be able to leave Turkey until experts from the Antalya Museum examine the stones. The Belgian woman named Kim, who appears to be the owner of the suitcase based on the ticket reservation, will go to the police station every Monday and sign for it.
The Belgian couple, who learned in 2014 that another person from the same region they lived in was not allowed to leave Turkey for eight weeks for the same reason, rented an apartment in Antalya.
Arguing that the stones do not qualify as historical artifacts, Warre said they collected them during their day trip to Manavgat district. Warre stated that he collected rocks from all the places they went on vacation to put in the aquarium at home and said:
“I found the stones in an empty field. One was the size of a hand and the color of sand. Someone had carved a flower pattern on it. The other two were triangular in shape, the kind that are found in dozens on the beach. It was definitely not a temple column or anything like that. “I took them with me to put them in my aquarium at home.”