"kitchen Marble" Used In Historical Aspendos Restoration

- In historical amphi-theatre of Aspendos in resort province of Antalya, the recent restoration works sparked outrage among tourists and tourism and culture associations, as white marble has been used on stairs and seats rather than original texture and colors.

The new design reminding of “kitchen marble”, against the dark grey original texture of the historical monument, raised debate prior to the upcoming G-20 summit in Belek region of Antalya to host world leaders in November. The programme of leaders such as Merkel, Obama and Putin involves a visit to Aspendos and concert events in the historical area, as well.

The Ancient theatre had been closed to public for restoration works before the International Aspendos Ballet and Opera Festival, for 7-8 months.

Antalya City Council Head of Tourism Division Recep Yavuz defined the implementation as a “restoration disaster”, and told that the city has been facing “meaningless and confusing” restoration works, which do not reflect the related historical eras.

Having reminded that Aspendos has been candidate to the UNESCO World Heritage List and is one of the most important cultural artefacts of the world, Yavuz urged that the restoration works should normally be merely noticed by people or should be only recognized from a short distance.

A tour guide in the region, Alper Erpolat added tourists have been slamming the new appearance of Aspendos and the first reactions of tourists have been pointing out that the historical amphitheater looked fairly shapeless in photos”.

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