30 November 2023 The Future is the Product of the Past

Environmentalists react to the rehabilitation works in the Assos ancient port

Among the continuing landscaping and restoration works at the historic city of Assos in the northern province of Canakkale, a large hill at the port has been cut, turning the region’s lush environment into dust, causing outrage among nature lovers.

Since the stones falling on the road leading to Assos Ancient City created a security problem, the ancient city was closed to visitors for 500 days and rehabilitation work was started.

The ancient city of Assos was closed to entrances with the conclusion of the tender made by the Ayvacık District Governorate in April.

During the rehabilitation works that started after April, the images that the construction machines disrupted the historical texture became the agenda on social media.

Two environmental organizations, Friends of Assos and the Protection of Natural and Cultural Properties in Mount Ida Society, made an effort to stop the landscape work and uploaded photos of the region before and after the work on social media.

While environmentalists applied for legal complaints, hotel owners in the region supported the landscape project saying, “Rocks from the hills fall on people on rainy days.”

“Things done with heavy equipment at Assos completely contradicts with the European Landscape Pact, which is in force since 2003,” archaeologist Nezih Başgelen told daily Milliyet on Oct. 1.

“The region flattened with bulldozers is an archaeological and protected site,” said Cem Tüzün, an official from Friends of Assos.

“This is a culture extermination,” he added.

However, the business owners in the region do not think the same.

Giving a firm response to those who criticize the work, Erdal Çakır, the head of Assos Hotel Owners Association,” said: “Five years ago, rocks fell from the hill on a vehicle and the roof of a hotel. Human life is under risk.”

Video: Kazdagi Natural and Cultural Heritage Preservation Association



Reminding that there is an official report highlighting this risk, Çakır asked: “Does anybody want that someone gets killed here?”

Tüzün, unlike Çakır, wants the project to stop to save the habitat.

“The project comprises of landscape on six parts. Unfortunately, three parts have been damaged; we are trying to save the remaining three,” he said.

Süheyla Doğan, another environmentalist, posed two questions to the authorities via her interview at the daily: “If rocks fell, why didn’t you think of an easier solution, such as installing barbed wires? Is it true that amid the excavation work, an ancient temple was found under the soil?”

Agreeing with the criticisms that the landscape has started looking ugly because of the works, Çakır said: “The vegetation cover is gone, and it looks ugly, yes. But, it will gain its charms after the landscape work.”

Friends of Assos and the Protection of Natural and Cultural Properties in Mount Ida Society demanded that the construction activities be stopped immediately, those responsible for the murder of Assos be brought to justice, and the destruction in the ancient city should be urgently rehabilitated with scientific methods.

The harbor city of Assos is an ancient city located in Behramkale village about 17 kilometers from Çanakkale’s Ayvacık district. The city, founded some 3,000 years ago, has been known as a famous teaching center since antiquity.

Related Articles

The First Native Americans were Among the First Metal Miners in the World

20 March 2021

20 March 2021

An arrowhead made of pure copper 8,500 years ago dates the history of the copper age to an earlier period,...

Archaeologists unearths Unique Tomb of 6th Century BC Egyptian Commander at the archaeological area of ​​Abu Sir

24 July 2022

24 July 2022

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced on July 15 that a team of Czech archaeologists, while excavating near the Giza...

“Urartian Royal garbage dump” was found during excavations at Ayanis Castle

3 September 2022

3 September 2022

During the excavations carried out in the Ayanis Castle, which was built by the Urartian King Rusa II on the...

In Peru, Archaeologists Discovered an Ancient Dance Floor that can Imitate Rumbling of Thunder

21 July 2023

21 July 2023

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient “sounding” dance floor in Peru that was designed to create a drum-like sound when stepped...

A Trove of ‘Exceptional’ stunningly preserved bronze statues found at an Ancient Thermal Spa in Tuscany, Italy

10 November 2022

10 November 2022

A group of Italian archaeologists made the discovery of 24 well-preserved bronze statues from an ancient thermal spring in Tuscany....

Archaeologists uncovered a second mosaic in Rutland Roman villa in England

29 November 2022

29 November 2022

Archaeologists report they have uncovered a second mosaic at the site of the 2020 mosaic discovery at the Roman villa...

Analyses of a 2,900-year-old iron chisel from Portugal revealed surprisingly high-quality steel

22 September 2023

22 September 2023

Steel tools were believed to have only become widespread in Europe during the Roman Empire, but a recent study shows...

Iron Age stone altar and gold-plated ceremonial sword discovered in Kazakhstan

14 August 2021

14 August 2021

A stone altar and a gold-plated ceremonial sword used in the early Iron Age were discovered during excavations along the...

A marble slab with an inscription from the 2nd century was discovered during excavations in Bulgaria

18 October 2023

18 October 2023

Archaeologists discovered a 1,900-year-old marble slab bearing an ancient Greek inscription in the Roman Baths of Hisarya, a small resort...

Roman camp of 10,000 people discovered in northern Portugal

2 July 2021

2 July 2021

A camp used by 10,000 Roman soldiers sent to conquer northwestern Iberia has been discovered in the Portuguese city of...

Two new fragments of the Fasti Ostienses, a kind of chronicle engraved on marble slabs, have been found in the Ostia Antica Archaeological Park

19 August 2023

19 August 2023

Two new fragments of the Fasti Ostienses have been discovered in the Ostia Antica Archaeological Park, following investigations carried out...

10,500-year-old stone Age Hunter-Gatherer settlement found in England

20 January 2023

20 January 2023

A team of archaeologists from the University of Chester and Manchester has discovered a stone age Hunter-Gatherer settlement during excavations...

Petalodus shark teeth found for the first time in China

29 August 2021

29 August 2021

A 290 million-year-old fossil of a shark with petal-shaped teeth has been discovered in China. Seven well-preserved Petalodus teeth were...

Dozens of unique bronze ornaments discovered in a drained peat bog in Poland

28 January 2023

28 January 2023

Numerous bronze ornaments have been discovered in Poland’s Chełmno region (Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship). Archaeologists report that dozens of bronze ornaments, including...

International Sand Sculpture Festival Opens with the Theme “The Lost City of Atlantis”

6 May 2021

6 May 2021

The 16th edition of the International Sand Sculpture Festival (SANDLAND) has begun in Turkey’s Mediterranean resort city of Antalya. Every...