‘When the Turk waters his horse in Vistula, Poland shall be reborn' is the paraphrase of the Wernyhora prophecy which alludes the the presence of the Turkish army on the eastern Galicia front.

According to this prophecy, the appearance of the Turks in the land Vistula in 1916-17 was connected to the rebirth of Polish independence.

The little known episode of history is the subject of the exhibition which was opened on the 3^rd February in the Collegium Maius cellars. The vice-director of the JU Museum, Włodzimierz Kisza, in presence of H.E. Prof. Dr hab. Yusuf Ziya Özcan – the Ambassador of Turkey in Warsaw and Dr hab. Öztürk Emiroğlu – the director of the Yunus Emre Institute, the Turkish Cultural Centre of Warsaw, the vice-governor of the Małopolska voivodeship Józef Garwon, and the consul of Slovakia Ivan Škorupa, led the opening event. Following the speeches of the representatives of Poland and Turkey, the author of the exhibition, Dr Piotr Nykiel, held a lecture.

The exhibition presents archive photographs and texts in Turkish, Polish and English languages. Additionally, there are five maps illustrating the combat trail and battles fought by the XV Corps of the Ottoman army in Galicia. The trilingual texts provide the information about the armed struggle of the Turkish soldiers, but also about their daily life in the rear front, the visits of Ottoman princes, medical care of the wounded, and war cemeteries (i.a. in Cracow), as well as about the origins of the Cracow's Chair of Turkology.

The author and curator of the exhibition is Dr Piotr Nykiel from the JU Chair of Turkology, and the organizer is Yunus Emre Enstitüsü. The honorary patronage is held by the Ambassador of Turkey in Warsaw. The exhibition is planned for the years 2016-2017 to be shown in diverse cities in Poland, Central Europe, and Turkey.

The exhibition will be open to the 6^th March, daily from 9:00 to the nightfall. Free entry.