Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu inspects the historic Kirkus Bridge in the Bolvaden district of Afyonkarahisar.

Speaking to reporters after the investigation, Karaismailoğlu said that his ministry had held important meetings regarding the ongoing investments in Afyonkarahisar.

Expressing their presence on the historic Kirkoz Bridge, Karaismailoğlu said:

“All the historical bridges in our country are under the responsibility of our General Directorate of Highways, we are trying to revive them and bring them back to life to protect our history and culture.

Kirkus Bridge is one of the most important of these historical bridges, we hope we are working on a project for restoration work here.

When the project works are completed, we will start the restoration work here after approval under the supervision and oversight of the Cultural Heritage Councils.

I hope we will do important work to return this place to its true historical form.”

“We do the most technical jobs in the world”

Karaismailoğlu emphasized that they attach importance to the protection of historical bridges, and said, “A ministry that carries out the most important technological work in the world.

On the one hand, we do the most technical work in the world, and on the other hand, we protect our bridges that have served our country for thousands of years.

We wish to return it to our country, our citizens, and tourists, and since we attach importance to such studies, we will follow them closely.”

After that, Karaismailoğlu visited the hot air balloon operation that started with the approval of the General Directorate of Civil Aviation around Emre Lake in Ihsaniye district.

Karaismailoğlu, who went to Ayazini village after his visit, examined the carved rock settlements and the street rehabilitation project in the area.

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On Friday, the Turkish authorities reopened the tomb of the companion “Abu Shaybah al-Khudri”, may God be pleased with him, in Istanbul, after completing its restoration work.

The opening ceremony of the mausoleum in front of visitors participated in the Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya, Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Nadir Alp Arslan, and Director of Culture and Tourism in Istanbul, Coşkun Yılmaz.

In his speech during the ceremony, Yilmaz said: “At the direction of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the state completed the restoration work of the Sahabi shrine,” and reopened it to visitors.

For his part, Yilmaz said, “There are narrations that Abu Shaybah is a brother of the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, and one of his breastfeeding women is Halima Saadia.”

He added that Islamic historical sources indicate that al-Khudri was one of more than 50 companions who participated in the first campaigns to conquer Constantinople.

He referred to the martyrdom of al-Khudri on the walls of Constantinople at the age of 85-90 years.

Yilmaz mentioned that Sultan “Mehmet the Conqueror” was the one who ordered the construction of a tomb for the companion after he conquered the city of Istanbul in 1453.

The companion “Abu Shaybah al-Khudri”, may God be pleased with him, lies in a mausoleum next to the walls of the old city of Istanbul.

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A historical archaeological smuggling operation was carried out in Manisa and Izmir. In the process, 8,979 historical artifacts dating back to different periods were seized, and 3 people were arrested.

The teams of the Directorate of Anti-Smuggling Branch of the Izmir Provincial Police Department also learned that the historical artifacts are preserved in 3 addresses in Izmir and Manisa.

In the simultaneous operation, 8,979 historical artifacts, including 7,906 coins and 1,073 artifacts of different periods were seized during inspections of titles and vehicles.

Hide the artifacts in the car

On the other hand, it was determined that the suspects had hidden some historical artifacts in the console section of the car and in a private room in the home’s kitchen.

He was detained in the process, L.O., H.D., and S.D., and police actions are continuing.

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Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said that his ministry expects that the tourist season for the current year will be better than it was last year, 2020.

In a press statement he made on Monday, he added that the “safe tourism program” launched by his ministry has had an effective role in stimulating the tourism movement in the country.

He stressed that the “Safe Tourism Program” is one of the most effective programs around the world that have set standards and measures to prevent the spread of the Corona pandemic.

He pointed out that the aforementioned program enhances the confidence of tourists, indicating that they have seen its positive results on the tourism sector.

The Turkish minister stressed that the tourism season for this year will be much better than it was in 2020.

He pointed out that Turkey received 16 million tourists last year, although the goal was to receive 15 million.

He added that current indicators show that next season will be much better than last year.

The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, launched a “safe tourism program”, which included a set of proposed measures to be applied to citizens and tourists who spend their holidays in the country.

Under the program, the Ministry of Health, in cooperation with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Interior, Tourism and specialized international institutions, issues certificates to hotels, restaurants and resorts that adhere to safety standards.

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The state of Kutahya, western Turkey, is preparing to attract more tourists through its historical and archaeological sites that are spread in various regions of it.

Among the most prominent monuments in the state is the ancient city of Aizanoy, which is located in the district of Chavdar Hisar.

It is called the second city of Ephes, due to its resemblance to the world-famous city of Ephes, located in the western state of Izmir.

The Old City, which was inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Provisional List of World Heritage in 2012, has been excavating it since 2011.

The state authorities intend to accelerate archaeological excavation and restoration work in the old city, in order to make it available for tourists to visit.

Ali Celik Wali Kutahya said that the history of the ancient city dates back to about 5,000 years ago.

He added that Aizanoy has embraced many civilizations throughout history.

He explained that they aim to provide the ancient city with tourism in order to attract more tourists to Kutahya.

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Restoration work has been completed in the historic “Dar Qaim Maqam”, one of the most prominent tourist attractions in Safranbolu, in the state of Karabuk, northwestern Turkey.

Safranbolu enjoys an important global position due to its position on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, “UNESCO”, and is one of the “20 best protected cities in the world.”

The house occupies an important place among the historical houses of Safran Polo, as it was built in the early nineteenth century and consists of two floors.

The house underwent renovation and restoration in 1979, and then it was converted into an educational center before taking its current form as a museum, and it is being restored again by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The mayor of Safranbolu Muhammed Türk Oz said in a statement to reporters after the completion of the restoration work that the house will start receiving visitors and tourists as of next June.

He added that the Qaem Maqam House is one of the most important historical buildings in the region.

He expressed his hope that Safranbolu would witness a good tourist season this summer, with the start of easing restrictions on the fight against Coronavirus.

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Istanbul has become one of the most attractive tourist destinations in the world, a city that has a unique blend of historical and modern attractions. Where when you walk in the alleys of this city, sometimes you see minarets and domes of ancient mosques, and sometimes elegant and modern buildings, which gives you a special magic you have not seen before.

If you travel to this city or if you are interested in historical monuments, know that you have chosen a very suitable destination, as you will find a variety of ancient tourist areas in Istanbul. You may not have the time to visit all of them, and therefore in this article we want to present to you one of the most beautiful sights of the city, which is the submerged palace or the Basilica Cistern.

A historical look at the Basilica Cistern

The Basilica Cistern was built by order of the Byzantine Emperor Justin I in the year 532 AD, and this Cistern occupies an area of ​​138 meters in length and 6.64 meters wide covering an area of ​​about 1000 square meters.

This Cistern is able to absorb 80 thousand cubic meters of water, and it should be noted that a lot of effort has been made in building this historic building, with 336 marble pillars of 9 meters in length in 28 rows.

Most of these columns are said to be made from recycled materials from very old buildings, such as the remaining materials from an important landmark building such as Hagia Sophia or from various parts of the Byzantine Empire, for the purpose of cost saving.

One of the most prominent examples of this recycling is the reuse of famous Medusa statues as a base for columns on the northwestern side of the Cistern.

The important point in the Basilica Cistern is that the common people believe that this cathedral was built around the third or fourth century BC and was destroyed immediately after the destruction of Constantinople in the revolts of Nica (532 AD).

The reconstruction of the cathedral’s Cistern was on the agenda of the Emperor Justinian’s restoration project, but unlike the Cistern, the cathedral itself no longer exists today.

Learn about the Basilica Cistern in Istanbul

Basilica Cistern “Yerebatan Sarnıcı” in Turkish means the reservoir that sank in the ground and is located 150 meters southwest of Hagia Sophia, it is important to know that it’s one of the most wonderful buildings in Istanbul.

It is worth noting that there are hundreds of old water cistern hidden under the city of Istanbul, which in the distant past was a source of water supply for citizens who lived in these areas, and the largest of these buildings is the Basilica Cistern.

This cietern is located below a site that was previously a Roman church, it was called the Basilica Cistern, and this great and historical vault was named after this church, which was once located on the hill of Constantinople (Istanbul Today), not to mention that the Basilica literal meaning is “a place of worship” and indicates Historical texts to the great churches of the Roman Empire, which you will see its magnificence and grandeur by visiting this magical place.

When you walk alongside these columns and the corridors of this mysterious cellar, a strange feeling captures your attention, with the upside down Medusa heads of these columns! That old legendary character. As you will then realize the great historical and archaeological value of Istanbul.

How was the Basilica Cistern discovered?

As mentioned above, the Basilica Cistern was not used in the Ottoman Empire, and until this vault, it was forgotten for a long time. Of course due to the instability of anything in that period, this forgetfulness continued only until the middle of the sixteenth century and specifically in 1545 AD, in that time Geologist Petrus Gyllius traveled to Constantinople at the request of the first king in France to research ancient Roman manuscripts.

One day Gyllius was wandering around an alleyway near Hagia Sophia, where he heard about a local well called Basilica Cistern. He searched for the locals who claimed they were taking their water from a nearby large basement, and sometimes fishing there. This was the first spark in the mind of Gyllius.

Gyllius, he was very curious about these words, as he went after these allegations to find out what was going on, entered the wooden building there and went to the basilica basement, after going down the stairs of this very cold cellar. He was surprised by the greatness of this place, where he saw many marble pillars, then “Petrus Gyllius” boarded a boat to discover as much as possible about this cellar.

Gyllius then collected all the information and details. He published it later about his journey.

How to go to the Basilica Cistern

As mentioned above, Basilica Cistern is located in the center of Istanbul and in Sultanahmet district, near the famous Hagia Sophia Museum.

If you choose Hagia Sophia first to visit, head to the museum southwest and you can reach the reservoir in just 5 minutes on foot.

So as you can see, the road to the Basilica Cistern is very easy and it can be easily reached from anywhere in the city, by bus and taxi, and you can also use the Istanbul metro line or the tram if you like.

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