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ISTANBUL: Kayseri's carved rock sanctuary to become art gallery

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  • ISTANBUL: Kayseri's carved rock sanctuary to become art gallery

    Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
    Nov 30 2013


    Kayseri's carved rock sanctuary to become art gallery

    KAYSERÄ° - Anadolu Agency

    A 1,700-year-old rocked carved sanctuary in Kayseri's Talas district
    will turn into a museum and art gallery to host classics and
    traditional arts

    Tol Mabet (sanctuary) in the central Anatolian province of Kayseri's
    Talas district, which is famous for its historic mansions and
    underground richness, will become a museum and art gallery, where
    classical works will be displayed. The sanctuary is a carved rock one
    and dates back to 1,700 years ago.

    Talsa Mayor Rifat Yıldırım said that the rock-carved place, which is
    located on Ali Saip PaÅ?a Street, has a unique style of architecture in
    the region.

    Yıldırım said that they estimated that the sanctuary dated back to the
    third and fourth century B.C. and it had undergone restoration many
    times to strengthen the structure. He said they had worked
    meticulously to restore the sanctuary and expose it to tourism.

    Built for safety

    `Most probably this place was an underground city built for safety,'
    Yıldırım said, and continued: `Arrangements in the structures show us
    that it served as a church in history. This is a very strong
    structure. We see in this sanctuary what humans can do by carving
    rocks. It was built with a magnificent mathematical transaction. As a
    result of long-time work, we prepared a restoration project. It was an
    abandoned place before the restoration. We won an award from the Union
    of Historical Towns. The restoration took nearly four years. This is a
    magnificent structure built completely with hand workmanship. This is
    why the restoration was very detailed.'

    Yıldırım said that the use of such structures should not go against
    the purpose of its structuring, and continued:

    `This is a sanctuary and needs respect. It should not be seen as a
    commercial enterprise. Considering it, we have decided that this place
    should be home to culture and art events. We will make an art gallery
    to host calligraphy, ornamentation and marbling works. Artistic
    performances will be staged here. We also estimate that there are some
    hidden structures under this sanctuary. We have not reached them yet
    but I think we will. We restored the neighboring structures of the
    sanctuary. It had a cost of nearly 1 million Turkish Liras.'

    Yıldırım said that Talas also had many historic structures just like
    Tol Mabed since Greeks, Armenians and Turks had lived in the district
    together through centuries and left a rich heritage.

    `We also plan to bring Talas to tourism because every year many
    tourists from Athens come to Talas with tour companies because Greeks
    immigrated to Greece from here as a result of the population exchange.
    They visit the land of their ancestors. We will make use of this
    opportunity more,' he said.


    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/kayseris-carved-rock-sanctuary-to-become-art-gallery.aspx?pageID=238&nID=58733&NewsCatID=385

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