Turkey Gives Peace Treaty Replica to United Nations for Display at Headquarters

The Government of Turkey this morning presented the United Notions with a replica of the Kadesh Peace Treaty, the earliest peace treaty whose text is known to have survived. It was signed c. 1259 B.C. between the King of the Hittites, Hattusilis III, and the pharaoh of Egypt, Rameses II. The clay tablet, which records the text in cuneiform script, was found in 1906 in central Anatolia on the site of the old Hittite capital, Hattusat (now Bogazkoy). The replica was presented to the Secretary-General, U Thant, by Ihsan Sabri Caglayangil, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Turkey, in a brief ceremony which took place this morning on the second floor of the Conference building, in the delegates' corridor outside the north entrance to the Security Council Chamber, The replica will remain on display there. The ceremony was attended by the heads of several delegations and by senior officials of the U.N. Secretariat.
Secretary-General U Thant with Mr. Ihsan Sabri Caglayangil, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Turkey, during the presentation ceremony.