World’s first assembly building ready to open

ANTALYA - Anatolia News Agency

The building of the Lycian league, regarded as the world’s first democratic union, has been restored and will open to visitors on May 20 at a ceremony. DHA photo

The assembly building of the Lycian league, regarded as the world’s first democratic union, is located in the southern province of Antalya and will soon be opened to visitors following a ceremony to be attended by Turkish Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek. The building, located in the ancient city of Patara close to the town of Kaş in Antalya, was discovered in 1991 by the head of the Patara excavations, Professor Fahri Işık, and excavated between 2000 and 2006 by a team headed by Akdeniz University Faculty of Literature Professor Taner Korkut.

The building was handed over to the Turkish Parliament in a protocol signed at a ceremony in 2008, and the Parliament initiated a restoration project in 2009 in order to open the area to the public. The restoration work kicked off in April 2010, and was carried out by Akdeniz University archaeology Professor Havva İşkan Işık, until it was completed on Jan. 31, 2012.

Parliament has decided to hand the ancient structure over to the Culture and Tourism Ministry. The structure, which has so far been closed to visitors, will open on May 20 with a ceremony in which Çiçek and Culture Minister Ertuğrul Günay will participate.