St Nicholas Memorial Museum gets a facelift

ANTALYA

The Culture and Tourism Ministry has initiated a comprehensive restoration work at the world-famous St. Nicholas Memorial Museum, one of the holy places of the Orthodox world, in the southern province of Antalya’s Demre district to give it a facelift.

The museum is one of the most important historical structures of Turkish and Antalya tourism. The restoration work has been carried out in accordance with national and international conservation principles and there will be the least interference in the original values of the building.

Within the scope of the restoration carried out so far, infrastructure and drainage works have been completed to reduce the effects of rain and groundwater on the structure and its surroundings since the structure is below sea level. The original Byzantine canal of the ancient period, located in the north of the building, was also included in this system and regained its function.

Conservation of the original wall paintings and mosaics in the building also continues. While conservation and cleaning works continue on the original walls, the stone floors of the interior and exterior spaces are being reinforced.

Cleaning works are carried out on the exterior of the building and consolidation works are carried out at the joints. The steel construction roof system, which was installed in the 1980s and protected the building from rain, has been removed. Instead, a new protective roof will be built to cover the southern burial chamber, the southeast chapel and the entrance.

Since the St. Nicholas Memorial Museum is also a tourism center and serves as a museum, a sightseeing platform, a visitor area with additional buildings, and landscaping will be made to allow individuals to visit the venue. While the existing toilet section in the museum will be demolished, a new one will be built in its place.

Nilüfer Sezgin, the director of the Lycian Civilizations Museum, provided information about the restoration works carried out at the St. Nicholas Memorial Museum.

“The St. Nicholas Memorial Museum is very important for Turkish and Antalya tourism. Restoration works initiated in this holy place of the Orthodox world are continuing rapidly. First of all, with the removal of the old roof structure, the aesthetic appearance of the museum will be emphasized with the new roof construction. Wall paintings and mosaics are documented and consolidated. The sustaining wall and the landscape will be renewed. We are working to preserve the authenticity of the St. Nicholas Memorial Museum, which has been preserved for centuries, for the next generations,” she said.

Emre Dertli, a member of the restoration team working on the murals, said, “First, documentation work is carried out in wall paintings under the supervision of expert restorers. Afterward, it will be implemented in line with this documentation.”