Digital models of artifacts unearthed during excavations in the ancient city of Kibyra are being created with the use of laser technology, within the scope of a project initiated by the Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (MAKU) in the southern province of Burdur. MAKU Technical Sciences Vocational School Director Serkan Öktem said the university’s goal was to turn the artifacts into digital models so people would be able to “visit” them on the Internet. 

Result of call for tenders: EAC/03/2015

Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia Museum remained Turkey’s most visited tourist attraction last year, according to data released by the Culture and Tourism Ministry. In 2015, 3.47 million people visited the Hagia Sophia, originally built as a 6th century Christian basilica that was converted to an imperial mosque in the 15th century before becoming a museum. It was also the most visited site in Turkey in 2014.

The oldest Christian monastery in Iraq has been reduced to a field of rubble by jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).St. Elijah’s Monastery stood as a place of worship for 1,400 years, including most recently for U.S. troops. In earlier millennia, generations of monks tucked candles in the niches, prayed in the chapel, worshipped at the altar. 

Southern province Şanlıurfa’s Göbeklitepe, recognized as the world’s oldest temple and “point zero of history,” is being promoted in Davos, where the 46th World Economic Forum is being held. The ice sculptures of Göbeklitepe, which are on display next to the Davos Congress Center, have found fans in state ministers, academics, top officials of the world leading companies, artists, sportsmen and NGO representatives. 

Archaeological works are still continuing in the ancient Roman-era basilica discovered at the beginning of 2015 under Lake İznik in Turkey’s northwestern province of Bursa. Forty bronze coins have been found recently in the basilica.

Structures that have been unearthed in the ancient city of Stratonikeia, located in the western province of Muğla’s Yatağan district, will allow visitors to journey back in time with 3-D technology. The 2015 excavation work has recently ended in the ancient city of Stratonikeia, one of the world’s largest marble cities and home to many civilizations. 

The 2016 program of the underwater excavation of the Ertuğrul frigate, which sank near Japan’s city of Kushimoto and caused the death of 550 Turkish sailors, kicked off on Jan. 15 and will continue until Feb. 15.

During the restoration of the 800-year-old Alaaddin Mosque in the southern province of Antalya’s Korkuteli district, the structure’s crown gate, a rare example of stone masonry, has been broken into pieces. Newly appointed Antalya General Directorate of Cultural and Natural Heritage Prof. İbrahim Bakır said he would investigate the issue. Link

Museums and ancient sites in the western province of Muğla were visited by nearly 850,000 people last year, with the revenue from these visits topping 6 million Turkish Liras. Home to many ancient sites on UNESCO’s temporary list of world heritage sites, Muğla’s Sedir Island and Bodrum Underwater Archaeology Museum were the most popular places for tourists in 2015. Link