2,800-year-old Urartian sewage system unearthed in Van

AA photo

An ancient Urartian sewage system, which was first discovered during excavations in 2004 in the Çavuştepe Castle in the eastern province of Van, has been unearthed. 

This year’s works in the castle in the Gürpınar district of Van recently came to an end, after unearthing ancient vineyards, walls, cisterns, temples and palace structures. 

The 2,800-year-old sewage system, which was discovered in the castle in 2004, was finally unearthed under the structures in the western part of the castle. The sewage is one meter in width and 30 meters in length and covered with fine stones. 

The head of the Culture and Tourism Ministry-supported excavations, Rafet Çavuşoğlu, an associate professor in the Archaeology Department of Yüzüncü Yıl University, said the Çavustepe Castle was particularly important in history because it was once located on a major trading route. 

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/new-findings-unearthed-at-knidos-in-western-turkey.aspx?pageID=238&nID=104594&NewsCatID=375

‘Cold of Kalandar’ is Turkey’s Oscar entry

Director Mustafa Kara’s “Kalandar Sogugu” (Cold of Kalandar) was selected Sept. 27 as Turkey’s nominee for the Foreign Language Academy Award entry.  

The Artistic Activities Committee said in a statement that a 17-member board, including representatives of the Culture Ministry and Turkish cinema associations, chose the entry from among nine films to be Turkey’s Oscar nominee at the 89th Academy Awards next year.      

Written by Kara and Bilal Sert the drama pictures the naive portrait of a touching life, and the struggle and the relationship between nature, animals and humans, according to the film’s official website.      

The award-winning film, which premiered at the Tokyo Film Festival in 2015 and won the Best Director Award, stars Haydar Şişman, Nuray Yeşilaraz and Hanife Kara.      

The selection by Turkey still leaves a long road before the film can win the Oscar.      

Every country is invited to submit one film to the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Those films are then evaluated by the Foreign Language Film Award Committee, which selects the five nominees for best foreign-language film.      

In 2015, Turkey selected Kaan Müjdeci’s film “Sivas” for an Oscar entry but the film was not named one of the final five nominees at this year’s Academy Awards.

September/28/2016 hürriyet daily news