Restoration fiasco at Şanlıurfa fortress with chalk-white stone wall façade

Serdar Korucu ISTANBUL / Radikal

A chalk-white stone wall has been built over one of the façades of Şanlıurfa’s historic fortress as part of restorations at the structure, parts of which collapsed due to heavy rain.

The wall appears to have ruined the appearance of the 1,200-year-old fortress, as the original colors are a deep tobacco yellow.

Officials who launched the restorations at the site assured that they had used genuine Urfa stones and the ancient parts of the structure "would adopt the same color with time." 

Experts, however, say blocks of stone from the collapsed structure should be used first in any restoration process.

The works that began on Jan. 24 are scheduled to be completed by the end of August. Aside from the incompatibility of the new stone with the original, the restoration work has also caused minor landslides, leading to concern among the population living nearby.

A similar restoration fiasco was widely reported at a temple dedicated to the Greek God Apollo in the northwestern province of Çanakkale, where the newly constructed steps were a completely different color from the original stones.