Minister Ersoy: We are allocating an allowance of 500 million liras for Myra and Andriake

Minister Ersoy introduced the “Legacy to the Future Myra and Andriake Port Project” at a program held in the Demre district of Antalya. Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced that they had allocated a budget of 500 million Turkish liras for excavation and restoration works at the ancient city of Myra and the port of Andriake.

He mentioned that they initiated the Legacy to the Future Project last year with “Eternal Ephesus to the Future,” taking a significant step towards Turkey’s golden age of archaeology. He stated that they had launched five major archaeological projects covering seven different areas within five months under this project. And they were introducing the sixth project, Myra and Andriake Port, in the sixth month. He emphasized that this rapid progress was the result of their determination to accomplish work equivalent to what had been done in Turkish archaeology in the last 60 years in just four years.

Minister Ersoy expressed confidence that they would swiftly achieve the goals of this project, just like all the other targets they had set in the field of culture and tourism. He explained that Myra had been continuously inhabited for 6,000 years since the Chalcolithic period and played a significant role in the classical period as one of the important settlements of Lycia. He highlighted the importance of Myra in religious history as the place where Saint Nicholas established his church and completed his life. The rock tombs with their facades imitating wooden architecture represent the most magnificent architectural group of Myra in the classical period.

Regarding the restoration efforts, Minister Ersoy mentioned their focus on the Roman Theater, which is the largest and best-preserved Roman theater in the region with a capacity of about 10,000 people.

He noted that the ancient city experienced a major flood in the mid-13th century BC, after which it began to be referred to as the Pompeii of Anatolia. Surface surveys were conducted in the 1960s, and excavation and restoration works started in 2009 under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Nevzat Çevik from Akdeniz University, which are still ongoing. Minister Ersoy concluded by stating their intention to focus on the restoration of the Roman Theater, aiming to revive its magnificent stage building with its original materials as part of the project. He assured that columns and other architectural elements would be restored to their original positions, and the theater would be brought back to life.

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