Officials have been spending last-minute efforts as the Göbeklitepe archeological site in Turkey’s southeast, one of the leading historic values of the country, prepares to be nominated for UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 2018 ahead of a delegation visit in September.
Aydın Aslan, a culture and tourism director in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, has told state-run Anadolu Agency that they were very pleased to finally hear the nomination of the Göbeklitepe archeological site, accepted as the world’s oldest center of worship by Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Ministry and many other international institutions and organizations, for this year’s 42nd UNESCO heritage committee meeting.
The site was included in UNESCO’s temporary list five years ago.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/gobeklitepe-prepares-for-key-unesco-visit-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=115875&NewsCatID=375
mardi 25 juillet 2017
Excavations in Turkey’s southeast reveal 10,000-year-old belief in afterlife
An excavation in the Dargeçit district of the southeastern region of Turkey, which will soon be left under the reservoir waters of the Ilısu Dam, has revealed crucial information about the North Mesopotamian people’s social life 10 millennia ago, particularly about burial rituals and the ancient belief in life after death.
Bodies buried in the fetal position, with their knees pulled up to their stomach, were found in the basements of houses in the site, symbolizing the position of a baby in the womb, according to information provided by Nihat Erdoğan, the manager of the Mardin Museum who conducts the excavation of the site.
The findings point at belief in rebirth after death, Erdoğan told the Doğan News Agency.
The decades-old Ilısu Dam project, which was first planned under Southeastern Anatolia Project’s investments in the 1960s, was first tendered in 1997. The potential damage caused by the dam’s construction, which is planned to be finalized this year, has been discussed for a quarter of a century.
Archaeologists have been carrying out intense work since 2008 in the large area, which includes the site known as “Boncuklu Tarla,” literally meaning “beady field” in English.
Houses with quarry stone walls and stiffened clay floors from the Aceramic Neolithic Age, which date back to 10,000 B.C. and 7,000 B.C., were found during the excavations at the site in Dargeçit.
“Since those times, people have used totems or amulets for thousands of years for abundance or spells, as part of their beliefs or as ornaments. Ornaments were made of colorful stones and natural materials such as animal teeth, horn, bone and nails or sea shells that were rubbed, scratched, drilled and stringed together,” said Erdoğan.
“The specific triangular pendants that were found at Boncuklu Tarla shows that the form of amulets, which have been believed to protect people from bad things and illnesses or to bring good luck, have not changed for 10,000 years,” he said.
Along with thousands of beads used in ornaments, obsidian or flint blades, waste from ornament making and stone chipping tools were found at the site.
The tools include blades, gimlets, arrowheads and microliths, said Erdoğan.
Traces of the Neolithic age have been found in several spots in Anatolia, where food production and settled societies had begun, he noted.
The foundations of today’s civilization were laid during the Neolithic Age, when the socio-economic structures and social classes were formed, triggering rooted changes in human life, he said.
The Boncuklu Tarla site was discovered in 2008, during a field survey. Its first excavations started in 2012.
This year’s excavation, which began last week, will last until the end of October and the uncovered artifacts will be exhibited at the Mardin Museum.
Bodies buried in the fetal position, with their knees pulled up to their stomach, were found in the basements of houses in the site, symbolizing the position of a baby in the womb, according to information provided by Nihat Erdoğan, the manager of the Mardin Museum who conducts the excavation of the site.
The findings point at belief in rebirth after death, Erdoğan told the Doğan News Agency.
The decades-old Ilısu Dam project, which was first planned under Southeastern Anatolia Project’s investments in the 1960s, was first tendered in 1997. The potential damage caused by the dam’s construction, which is planned to be finalized this year, has been discussed for a quarter of a century.
Archaeologists have been carrying out intense work since 2008 in the large area, which includes the site known as “Boncuklu Tarla,” literally meaning “beady field” in English.
Houses with quarry stone walls and stiffened clay floors from the Aceramic Neolithic Age, which date back to 10,000 B.C. and 7,000 B.C., were found during the excavations at the site in Dargeçit.
“Since those times, people have used totems or amulets for thousands of years for abundance or spells, as part of their beliefs or as ornaments. Ornaments were made of colorful stones and natural materials such as animal teeth, horn, bone and nails or sea shells that were rubbed, scratched, drilled and stringed together,” said Erdoğan.
“The specific triangular pendants that were found at Boncuklu Tarla shows that the form of amulets, which have been believed to protect people from bad things and illnesses or to bring good luck, have not changed for 10,000 years,” he said.
Along with thousands of beads used in ornaments, obsidian or flint blades, waste from ornament making and stone chipping tools were found at the site.
The tools include blades, gimlets, arrowheads and microliths, said Erdoğan.
Traces of the Neolithic age have been found in several spots in Anatolia, where food production and settled societies had begun, he noted.
The foundations of today’s civilization were laid during the Neolithic Age, when the socio-economic structures and social classes were formed, triggering rooted changes in human life, he said.
The Boncuklu Tarla site was discovered in 2008, during a field survey. Its first excavations started in 2012.
This year’s excavation, which began last week, will last until the end of October and the uncovered artifacts will be exhibited at the Mardin Museum.
July/20/2017 hürriyet daily news
lundi 22 mai 2017
Gaziantep cuisine sets eye on food Oscar
The southeastern city of Gaziantep, which has one of Turkey’s best cuisines and has been included in the UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network, now aims to acquire a Michelin Star, known as the Oscar of food, with new restaurants serving unique tastes.
To attain the goal, Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality is seeking to attract new venues to the city, including the Culinary Arts Center (MSM), which features a range of foods from Gaziantep cuisine, in one of the busiest spots in the city.
Besides presentation, the center has also drawn attention for unique dinner sets depicting the promotional face of the city, thy Gypsy Girl.
The center serves two different menus every week, including a seasonal dish, soup, main course and dessert.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/gaziantep-cuisine-sets-eye-on-food-oscar-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=113121&NewsCatID=377
samedi 20 mai 2017
Scientific board to examine 19th century Russian soldier found inside unearthed coffin in Turkey’s Ardahan
A scientific board has been established to examine the skeleton of a Russian military officer that was found inside an unearthed coffin in the eastern province of Ardahan last month, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on May 17.
The board including experts from Istanbul and the eastern province of Erzurum will study to protect and identify the skeleton of the officer who is believed to have been killed during the Ottoman-Russian War in 1877-1878, the general director of Kars Museum, Necmettin Alp, told the agency.
“The general directorate of cultural heritage and museum swiftly formed a team in Istanbul and Erzurum conservation directorates. This team will arrive at the museum next week and they will begin disinfection and repair works of the skeleton and the coffin,” Alp said, adding that a report will ultimately be prepared to identify the soldier and determine the cause of his death.
The coffin, initially believed to have belonged to the Russian general, was unearthed during foundation excavations for a construction project in Ardahan on April 26.
It had later been put under protection at the Kars Museum.
May/17/2017
vendredi 19 mai 2017
Abandoned wolf pups found in forested area in Turkey’s Diyarbakır
A total of six wolf pups were found in a forested area in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır on May 8, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.
Ergün Yücel Avcı, Forestry Ministry’s director of the Hazro district, and forest protection officers found the pups while on duty investigating afforestation works in the İslamköy neighborhood.
Officers have been waiting for the infant wolves’ mother to come back.
However, they decided to deliver them to the regional directorate of national parks after waiting for a long time for the mother.
The wolf pups will be released to their natural habitat after receiving medical treatment.
May/08/2017
Ancient city of Jethro waits for visitors
The ancient city of Jethro in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa doesn’t get as much as attention as nearby Harran, but locals and visitors are hoping that will soon change.
“Şanlıurfa is known as the city of prophets; there is the trace of a prophet everywhere. People find peace here but is it really neglected. Officials should clean this place,” said a visitor to the town, Ali Kaya, adding that people from neighboring villages often drop by to visit.
Locals believe that the prophet Jethro, known as Shoaib in the Qur’an, lived and met the prophet Moses in the ancient city.
Traces of the walls of the ancient city, where many rock tombs and stone structures draw attention, can still be seen in a large field as well as many other caves and tunnels. Later, a Roman city was also built on the site.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ancient-city-of-jethro-waits-for-visitors-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=113156&NewsCatID=375
jeudi 18 mai 2017
Legendary Ottoman architect’s Sinan’s historic Turkish bath put up for sale in Istanbul
A 16th century Turkish bath built by renowned Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan in Istanbul has been put up for sale with an asking price of 3 million euros, daily Birgün reported on May 9.
The bath in the historic Balat neighborhood, also known as “Ayakapı,” was commissioned by Sultan Nurbanu, the mother of Ottoman Sultan Murat III, in 1582. It was later renovated and bestowed with Jewish motifs, as Balat is a historic neighborhood for Jews living in Istanbul.
A lumberyard located next to the bath has also been put up for sale, with a “for sale” sign hung on the building’s exterior wall by the Ada Estate Agency.
The lumberyard and the Turkish bath cover an area of 800 square-meters, according to the advert on the Ada Estate Agency’s website.
The advert also warned buyers that any renovation work planned for the building needed permission from the state Council of Monuments.
Previously, the Ayakapı Turkish bath was put up for sale in both 2001 and 2012, but no buyer could be found due to “legal obligations” and the hefty price tag.
“Ayakapı” means of “gate of the saint” in Turkish, and it is part of the district of Fatih, inside the walled city, on the shore of the Golden Horn.
During the Byzantine era it was known as ta Dexiokratiana in Greek. It includes one of the most important surviving Byzantine buildings of the historical peninsula, now converted into a mosque, called the Gül Mosque.
May/09/2017
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