Turkish security forces seized an 800-year-old Hebrew book in an anti-smuggling operation in southeastern Turkey, the Governor's Office of Diyarbakır said in a statement on Thursday.

According to the statement, police detained four suspects trying to illegally sell the book, and confiscated the artifact.

Filled with Hebrew scripts, the leather book is believed to contain religious texts and estimated to be 800 years old.

Consisting of 22 pages, the book also contains delicate engraved figures.

Thousands of anti-smuggling operations are carried across Turkey every year to halt the illegal sale of historical objects and protect the country's rich cultural heritage.

The issue is crucial to a country that is home to about 3,000 ancient cities from 42 civilizations, and whose tourism industry relies on its rich historical heritage to attract millions of foreigners each year.