New findings at Çatalhöyük

KONYA – Doğan News Agency

Archaeological excavations at the ancient settlement of Çatalhöyük continued in 2015, with a rare human face-like plaster head among the most exciting finds, according to excavation head Prof. Ian Hodder

Çatalhöyük, the 9,000-year-old settlement in the central Anatolian province of Konya’s Çumra district, once again amazed archaeologists with new findings in 2015, the most important of which was a rare human face-like plastered head. 

Çatalhöyük was discovered in 1958 by archaeologist James Mellaart and excavations were carried out between 1961 and 1963 and then again in 1965. 

After a long break, work at the site resumed in 1993 and has been carried out by Prof. Ian Hodder of Standford University. 
 

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/new-findings-at-catalhoyuk-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=94106&NewsCatID=375 

ISTANBUL

A new book from Yaşar Yılmaz, “Ancient Cities of Turkey,” has provided a comprehensive overview of 118 ancient cities located in Anatolia and Thrace.

The ancient cities outlined in the guide, published as two separate books in Turkish and in English, are presented to local and foreign fans of history and archaeology in the form of short but satisfying texts, accompanied by photographs, current maps and road descriptions. 

In addition to significant structures that form the core of the city such as the market place, fountains, theaters and baths, there are also historical personalities, social, cultural, economic and political characters. The 196-page book was published by YEM Publications.

February/25/2014

Anatolia ‘before the nation’

William Armstrong - william.armstrong@hdn.com.tr - Hürriyet daily news

‘Before the Nation: Muslim-Christian Coexistence and its Destruction in Late-Ottoman Anatolia’ by Nicholas Doumanis  (Oxford University Press, $65, 272 pages)


People love to be nostalgic about the halcyon age of Ottoman coexistence. Referring misty eyed to the long-lost time of inter-communal harmony has become one of the clichés of writing about the region once ruled by the Ottomans. Nicholas Doumanis’ “Before the Nation” takes as its bedrock the Archive of Oral Tradition, a collection of thousands of interviews conducted from the 1930s to the early 70s with Greek refugees who left Asia Minor in the early years of the 20th century. The interviewees were hugely nostalgic for the religiously mixed life they left behind, and this nostalgia is shared by Doumanis, which accounts for both his book’s strength and its weakness.....

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/anatolia-before-the-nation.aspx?pageID=238&nID=61341&NewsCatID=474

Documentary film on Anatolian Seljuks

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

The Anatolian Seljuk state will be explained in new documentary. The shooting of the documentary began in the Central Anatolian province of Konya and continued in 20 provinces in total

The documentary particularly focuses on the concepts of mosque, caravanserai and madrasah. AA photos

A new documentary film, produced by the Konya Metropolitan Municipality and Turkish state television TRT, features the settlement of the Seljuk Empire in Anatolia, their artworks and policies they followed.

The making of the documentary started eight months ago in the Central Anatolian province of Konya and continued in about 20 provinces. Highlighting the architectural structures of the Anatolian Seljuk state, the documentary particularly focuses on the concepts of mosque, caravanserai and madrasah.

The Alaaddin Mosque, Karatay Madrasah and İnce Minare Museum in Konya, Eşrefoğlu Mosque in Beyşehir district and Sultan Han in Aksaray are among the places shown in the documentary.

Proposal by municipality
Hadi Şenol, the director of the documentary “Anadolu’da Selçuklu” (Seljuks in Anatolia), said that his interest in the Anatolian Seljuk state began in 1988 during the shooting of a documentary titled “Anadolu’nun Başkentleri” (Capitals of Anatolia).

“Since then I have wanted to document the settlement of the Seljuk state in Anatolia. When officials from the Konya Metropolitan Municipality proposed I make a documentary, we started preparations,” he said, adding that the shooting of the documentary was about to be completed. “It will be finished after scriptwriting, soundrecording, mounting and composing of special music. We plan to deliver the documentary for broadcasting. It will be first aired on TRT’s HD channel and then on TRT1 and TRT Anatolia channels.” Şenol said the documentary, whose director of photography is Sarper Hokna, would have two episodes, each of which will be 30 minutes. “It is an HD documentary. It is the first documentary shot in HD progressive, which means 1920x1080. We will also have animations. For example, we will animate Alaaddin Hill at the time of the Seljuk period. We will tell what Anatolia is in the first episode, and the policies of the Seljuk state when moving to Anatolia will be told in the second episode.”

Şenol said they had some difficulties during the shooting of the documentary. “For example, Sinop Castle has lost its characteristics because of visual pollution. We have encountered many areas like this. The concept of mosque and madrasah will be highlighted as the Seljuk state constructed these buildings for the education and safety of the people.”