Your guide to the archaeology of Asia Minor!| Turkish Archaeological News
Text by our correspondent from Didim, Jay Jean Jackson. There are many ancient archaeological sites which have graffito carvings etched into the stone floors. I have seen them in many places, Miletus, the Sacred Road, the Temple of Apollo, and Ephesus to name a few and I suspect they would also be present in most Ancient Greek cities. I have always been curious to learn about these, what are they for or what do they mean?| Turkish Archaeological News
Text and photos by our correspondent from Didim, Jay Jean Jackson. As the Temple of Apollo in Didyma lights up for night visits for the first time after extensive work, so does the head of Medusa. With a light shining in her face she looks less than amused and who can blame her. I certainly cannot as I observe the unsympathetic additions that just do not echo this beautiful and sacred ancient site. The concrete pathways, the gravel, the metal fencing, and new ticket booth are eyesores against...| Turkish Archaeological News
July 2025 brought some excellent news concerning the archaeological discoveries made in the area of Türkiye. Major inroads were made into the better understanding of the earliest history of the region, for instance the archaeological excavations in Uluköy Cave, located in Mardin’s Kızıltepe district in southeastern Türkiye, revealed evidence of human presence dating back 400,000 years. Moreover, a 12,000-year-old architectural model, believed to be the oldest house model ever discovere...| Turkish Archaeological News
In ancient times, the word agora meant two types of places: the political centre of a city, where the buildings belonging to the public sphere were located and where important matters of city policy were discussed, or the centre of trade and services. The Agora of Smyrna, the remains of which can be visited in Izmir, belonged to the first of these categories.| Turkish Archaeological News
June 2025 saw the reopening of several museums in the area of Türkiye, including the Trabzon Museum, also known as the Kostaki Mansion, and the Manisa Museum. One of the biggest archaeological discoveries announced in June was the find of a major archaeological structure in the ancient city of Gordion thought to belong to a member of the Phrygian royal family. Numerous archaeological sites welcomed visitors after sunset as part of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's new "night museum" init...| Turkish Archaeological News
| Turkish Archaeological News
Byzantine Secrets of Athens is not just another general guide to Athens. It is focussed specifically on the city's Byzantine period of history – that stretched from the late antiquity to the Ottoman times, roughly from the 5th to the 15th century. However, the topics discussed on the pages of this book are not limited to the Byzantine buildings. These magnificent structures offer us the opportunity to look at Athens from a less usual angle. At the same time, you will not miss its iconic mon...| Turkish Archaeological News
Text by our correspondent from Didim, Jay Jean Jackson.| Turkish Archaeological News
May 2025 brought some excellent news from the area of Türkiye. First of all, the ancient bilingual inscriptions of Karatepe-Aslantaş Open-Air Museum in Osmaniye were officially inscribed into the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register. Secondly, in a groundbreaking discovery, an archaeological team unearthed significant evidence of early settled life at Çakmaktepe, located in the Şanlıurfa province. Finally, the Directorate of National Palaces in Türkiye completed restoration...| Turkish Archaeological News
Erythrae was an ancient Greek city, one of the twelve Ionian cities in the Asia Minor. It was located on the Aegean coast of modern-day Turkey near the village of Ildır in the Izmir province, around 15 kilometres as the crow flies to the north-east of the famous holiday resort called Çeşme.| Turkish Archaeological News
Text by our correspondent from Didim, Jay Jean Jackson. When we think about the ‘theory of evolution’ most of us automatically think of the 19th century biologist Charles Darwin and his amazing work, ‘The origin of species’, which was published in 1859. However, some 2400 years ago, before the birth of science, Anaximander, in the Ancient Greek city of Miletus was already pondering how humans and animals had evolved.| Turkish Archaeological News
Text by our correspondent from Didim, Jay Jean Jackson. The more I research and learn about the once magnificent city of Miletus the more awestruck I become. The ancient ruins are amazing but to learn about the pioneering insights and contributions of the ancient philosophers, cartographers, mathematicians, cosmologists, and scientists who lived there, gives us an extraordinary understanding of the ancient world which makes each visit feel even more surreal.| Turkish Archaeological News
This text is a fragment of "The Secrets of Bodrum and Ancient Caria" guidebook. Nearby Yatağan, overshadowed by the thermal power plant, lie the ruins of Lagina ancient sanctuary. Their location, among the surroundings heavily damaged by industrial activities, paradoxically matches the characteristics of the goddess who used to be worshipped there. It was Hecate, the dark goddess of the underworld, of Anatolian origins.| Turkish Archaeological News
This text is a fragment of "The Secrets of Bodrum and Ancient Caria" guidebook. Within the area of modern-day Turkey, the remains of two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World have been preserved: the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. Unfortunately, while visiting these places, you cannot count on such magnificent views as tourists enjoy when viewing the Pyramid of Cheops. In place of the Temple of Artemis now stands a solitary column, and where once stood th...| Turkish Archaeological News
The Menüçehr Mosque is most likely the first mosque built by the Seljuk Turks in Anatolia. This mosque, built at the edge of the gorge overlooking Arpa Çay (Akhurian River), is said to have been constructed by the emir called Manuchihr ibn Shavur. The Shaddadid dynasty, which ruled Ani from around the year 1072, began with him as the first ruler. However, the actual construction date and the origins of this structure are still stirring much controversy.| Turkish Archaeological News
The Ani Cathedral is the biggest building in Ani, which was the capital of medieval Armenia during the Bagratid era. It's located in eastern Turkey, near the border with Armenia. The building was completed at the beginning of the 11th century, according to the plan of the architect Trdat, and for almost half a century, it served as the residence of the Catholicos, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The cathedral is considered to be the largest and most impressive building in the city....| Turkish Archaeological News
The Yazılıkaya Rock Sanctuary is the largest known Hittite open-air religious site. Its main parts are two galleries located in rocky corridors. They were once separated from the outside world by a complex of temple buildings, of which only the foundations and the outline of the walls have survived to this day.| Turkish Archaeological News