Ancient theater brought back to life

DENIZLI

The restoration efforts on a 2,200-year-old ancient theater in the southwestern province of Denizli have been completed, according to an official’s statement.

The restoration and excavations have been continuing ceaselessly in the ancient city of Laodicea, which is on the UNESCO Tentative List, under the leadership of Professor Celal Şimşek, while those of the urban theater’s have been completed.

Şimşek said in a press conference that the theater, with a capacity of 15,000 people, has been brought back to life thanks to the restoration project that started in 2019.

Noting that the team applied the restoration techniques of international criteria, he said, “This is the most extensive project whose restoration has been completed in such a short time.”

Şimşek added that 10 academics, a specialist architect, 12 archeologists, four restoring personnel and 20 workers participated in the project, managing to carry out years of work in only around 15 years, thanks to the contributions by the South Aegean Development Agency and the Metropolitan Municipality of Denizli.