Rooster sculpture in Turkey’s ‘cotton castle’ to be removed

DENİZLİ

The Aydın Preservation Board of Cultural and Natural Heritage decided to remove the rooster sculpture, saying it was built illegally.

A sculpture of the symbol of the western province of Denizli, a rooster, was built last year in the district of Pamukkale, which is Turkey’s world famous tourist hub with its white travertine and known as ‘cotton castle.’ The Aydın Preservation Board of Cultural and Natural Heritage has decided to remove the sculpture on the grounds that the sculpture was illegally built given that it was built in a protected area.

The Denizli Provincial Special Administration last year decided to build the sculpture of the Denizli Rooster last year in October. Created by sculptor Osman Atmaca using marble and metal, the 2-meter-tall sculpture was built on the road from Pamukkale’s ancient pool to the travertine. Former Provincial Special Administration Secretary General Adem Oklu said they had first talked to the academics of Pamukkale University and built the sculpture with their approval.

‘It is illegal’

The Aydın Preservation Board of Cultural and Natural Heritage decided six months later that the sculpture was illegal. The board reported that Pamukkale was a 1st degree archaeological site and the sculpture should be removed. The decision was recently declared and in accordance with the law, it should be removed within a month.

“The goal here is to promote the Denizli Rooster to the world. We want the decision for removal to be reconsidered because the rooster sculpture was built without damaging any of the tissue of the area,” the Pamukkale Tourism Association Chair Oysal Aslan said, adding some 1.5 million tourists visit Pamukkale every year.