Mosaics protected by roof in ancient city

MUĞLA

A roof has been constructed to protect the 1,600-year-old Byzantine-era mosaics in the ancient city of Stratonikeia in the western province of Muğla’s Yatağan district while the work is underway to make a glass terrace.

Excavation and restoration works continue in Stratonikeia, one of the most important historical centers of Yatağan region and known as “City of Gladiators” because of the biggest sports school in the region.

The work in the ancient city was accelerated with the adoption of the 2.5 million Turkish Lira project submitted to the South Aegean Development Agency (GEKA) with the initiatives of the district governorship in 2018.

Yatağan District Governor Hayrettin Çiçek, who examined the works in the ancient city on site, said that there are works from the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Principalities, Ottoman and Republican periods in Stratonikeia.

Stating that under the GEKA project, the 1,600-year-old mosaics will be opened to visitors at the entrance of the North Gate, Çiçek said that the mosaics will be kept covered until the project is completed.

Emphasizing that the district governorship works in coordination with the excavation team for the city to regain its magnificent days, Çiçek said, “There are many works to revive, restore and repair the columns in the North Gate in Stratonikeia. A roof has been built to protect the mosaics there. A glass terrace will also be built here.”

The ancient city of Stratonikeia was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2015.

The city is located within the borders of the village of Eskihisar, seven kilometers west of Yatağan. It lies on Kadıkule Hill in the west of the fertile Yatağan Plain at the crossroads of the main routes that connect western, central and southern Anatolia with each other.