TOURMAG_13_DIGI

CAPADOX THE REGION OF TOURISM
5.000 year-old Ancient City Discovered in Cappadoccia
Archeologists recently discovered a 5.000 year-old ancient
city in Nevşehir. Following a cooperation between Nevşehir
Hacı Bektaş Veli University and Nevşehir Museum, research
crews studied the Çakıltepe region, 20 kilometers away
from the city center and collected cultural assets like glasses,
bowls and furniture ruins which were found close to the
ground and took under protection.
ent ages. And the circumference of it hosts built-up areas of
Hellenes, Romans and Byzantines. Also in the middle of the
area, we found castle and fortification walls which were clearly
built for security. We soon will start excavations in the area,
with the permit of our Ministry of Culture and Tourism.”
Associate Professor Dr. Yalçın Kamış, consultant of the project,
made a statement about the subject and explained that
the discovered ancient city belonged to 3.000 BC and was a
very important area for ages. Kamış continued his speech
with these lines:
CASTLE AND FORTIFICATION WALLS FOUND
“We need to consider the city as two parts. In the center of the
area, there is a big mound which consists structures of differ-
1.100 year-old Church in Ihlara Valley Restorated
Jacinth Church in Peristremma – one of greatest canyons of
the world, today known as Ihlara Valley – opened to visit after
completion of its restoration. Yusuf Altın, Director of Aksaray
Museum, made a statement about the subject and underlined
the importance of the rock churches in Cappadocia, as they
are among the first sanctuaries of christianity. Altın, who stated
that there were 105 rock churces in the region, continued
his speech with these lines:
“Jacinth Church is one of the most important structures in
Ihlara Valley. In 1980, some parts of the structure were opened
to visit, but other parts of the church were filled with rain. We
recently started a project for cleaning and saving the church.
The first thing we did was to clean the filling. As we emptied
the soil in the church, some parts of the original structure like
kitchen, graveyeard, sheltering hub were discovered. Due to
these discoveries, we now prefer to describe the structure
as a monastery, instead of a church. Our cleaning and saving
project took four months and at the end of this work, Jacinth
Church became a good example for all historical places.”
88 Ocak / Şubat / Mart | 2018
January / February / March