Work has been initiated for the ancient Ani ruins, which date back thousands of years, in the eastern province of Kars to receive the status of a UNESCO World Heritage site. Kars Culture and Tourism Director Hakan Doğanay said in the case of its acceptance, Ani would be Turkey’s 16th world heritage site on the UNESCO list. Link

Turkey’s first ice sculpture museum is under construction in the southern province of Antalya. The museum is being established in the Snow World Entertainment Center inside the Antalya Aquarium. the museum would be the first one in Turkey, adding it would be open 12 months a year, while an entrance fee for the museum has not been set yet. Link

A two-month excavation process will start next week in the ancient city of Soli Pompeipolis in Mersin’s Mezitli. Its goal is to unearth the rest of a Roman street, which was unearthed in previous years. During last year’s 37-day excavations, the ancient city was found to be a very active harbor in the 1st B.C. and 1st A.D., said Dokuz Eylül University Head of Museum Department Professor Remzi Yağcı, adding the work in 2013 unearthed the columned street and Roman stores in an architectural order. Link

Turkey’s Cultural and Natural Heritage Preservation Board has refused to declare a plot of land in Istanbul’s Silivri district as a first-degree archaeological site despite the discovery of artifacts from the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine erasduring the construction of a wind power plant. Link

Two 2,800-year-old Urartian-era stelas found in the Patnos Brigade Command campus in the eastern province of Van have been transported to the Van Museum. The stelas, which held religious meaning, were the first and only in Turkey, said Culture and Tourism Provincial Director Muzaffer Aktuğ. Link

The 700-year-old arched church in the northwestern province of Bursa’s Mudanya district has been put on sale on the Internet for $1 million, news website T24 has reported. The Internet advert on a real estate website said the church’s relief and restitution were approved by the Bursa Council of Monuments. Link

Underwater archaeological work has started on the remains of a 1,600-year-old basilica that was discovered at the beginning of 2014 under Lake İznik in the northwestern province of Bursa. Conducted by the Uludağ University Archaeology Department in collaboration with the Culture and Tourism Ministry and Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, the work aims to obtain detailed information about the basilica. Link

A structure that is believed to have been used as an ancient cold storage depot has been unearthed in the ancient city of Sagalassos in the southern province of Burdur’s Ağlasun district. The ancient city was home to important buildings and monumental structures from the 2nd century B.C. Link

The ancient city of Ephesus in western Turkey has been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List following a vote in Bonn on July 5.The move came just a day after Diyarbakir’s wall and its nearby Hevsel Gardens were added to the list as well. Link1 Link2

Best known for coal, the ground beneath the southern Anatolian district of Ermenek is continuing to reveal priceless artifacts from humanity’s prehistoric era, as well as more recent ancient civilizations. Link