Turkey signed an agreement with the EU Commission for a seven-year €920 million "Employment and Social Innovation Program" in Ankara Friday, Turkey's EU Ministry announced.The agreement aims to provide in Turkey a high level of quality and sustainable employment; guarantee adequate and decent social protection; combat social exclusion and poverty, and improve work conditions.The program is considered a part of Turkey's "National Action Plan for EU Accession," which was unveiled by EU Minister Volkan Bozkir on Dec. 1, 2014. The action plan has been prepared in the context of “Turkey’s New European Union Strategy.” Link

The historical Valide Sultan Bath, built by Kanuni Sultan Süleyman’s wife Hürrem Sultan in the central Anatolian province of Konya’s Karapınar district in the 16th century, has been turned into a museum. Link

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants armed with sledgehammers and jackhammers have destroyed priceless ancient artefacts in Iraq's city of Mosul, a video released by the jihadists on Feb. 26 shows.The The destruction sparked widespread consternation and alarm, with some archaeologists and heritage experts comparing it to the 2001 demolition of the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan by the Taliban. Link1 Link2

Turkey has become one of the leading book markets in the world. This was the claim made at the opening ceremony of the CNR Expo Book Fair in Istanbul on Friday. Turkey’s culture ministry library chief, Hamdi Tursucu, said that the country has the world’s 12th biggest book market. Link 

A museum is under construction on the castle of Zile, known for Roman Emperor Julius Caesar’s famous phrase “veni, vidi, vici” (I came, I saw, I conquered) to the Roman senate. A stone building, which was established on the land on the right side of the historic castle in the northern province of Tokat, is set to open as a museum when the refurbishments are complete. Link

The St. Pierre Church, considered a pilgrimage place for Christians and believed to be the world’s first cave church by some sources, has been restored and expects to host 500,000 visitors annually. Located in the skirts of the Mont Habib Neccar in the eastern province of Hatay, the church was a meeting point for the believers of Jesus in the 1930s. Link

A tender will be initiated tomorrow for the restoration of St. John’s Church, which is popular among tourists in the Şirince neighborhood of Selçuk in İzmir. Link

Scuba divers have discovered the largest trove of gold coins ever found off Israel’s Mediterranean coast, about 2,000 pieces dating back more than 1,000 years, the country’s antiquities authority said on Feb. 17.  was by pure chance that members of a diving club in the Roman-era port had come across the coins, which the authority said weighed nine kilograms but described as “priceless.” Link

Among thousands of artworks in the Turkish Calligraphy Arts Museum, affiliated with the General Directorate of Foundations, 563 are being restored by a team of 20 experts. Foundations General Director Adnan Ertem said the museum, located in the Beyazıt Madrasah of the Bayezid II Mosque, is undergoing a restoration process. Link1 Link2

The conservation process of 37 sunken ships discovered during the Istanbul Marmaray excavations and removed from the area over eight years is nearing completion. The unearthed ships are set to be displayed when the works are completed by the end of this year. Link