Historical 12,000 year-old inn vandalized in Muğla

MUĞLA - Anadolu Agency

The walls of an historical 12,000 year-old inn in the western Province of Muğla’s Marmaris district have been destroyed with writings, paintings and engravings. The signboards in the inn have also been removed.

The Nimara inn, located on the Cennet Island in the Ada Ağzı cove in northwestern Marmaris, shows signs of human activity that date back 12,000 years and is visited by thousands of tourists in the region.

But now the inn has become a sort of chalkboard due to vandalism. Names, figures and expressions of love have been written or drawn on the walls with nail polish, spray paint and cutting tools.

The safety rails, which extended 30 meters into the inn, have also been broken.
Marmaris Municipality officials said they had been informed about the situation and that the writing on the walls would be cleaned under the supervision of the ministry.

Nimara Inn was discovered in 1999 and declared an archaeological and natural site. Excavations were initiated in and around the site on July 26, 2000, by then Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Murat Süslü, and Marmaris Museum Director Neşe Kırdemir.

The findings in the inn date back to 10,000 B.C., and people settled there 12,000 years ago. Some 1,500 pieces of colored glass, cutters, blades and tips of cutting tools made of stone were found. Examinations showed that the inn served as a bead atelier until the Bronze Age.

Hundreds of pieces of bowls, used in the Roman era, 50 terra cotta human figures and lots of coins were also discovered in the inn.

Following the restoration and environmental arrangements, the inn was opened to nature lovers in 2008.