Turkish district set to be moved for ancient city

The ancient city of Sebastapolis will have a chance to come to light after local authorities ordered the transfer of the entire district of Sulusary, which was built on top of the site The northern province of Tokat's Sulusaray district, a settlement of 3,500 people located on top of the ancient city of Sebastapolis, is set to be moved to another location so that the site can come to light.

Sulusaray Mayor Halil Demirkol said the ancient city, which has been home to three civilizations, was located in the center of the district.

"After 22 years, excavations started in the ancient city in 2013. This year, 10 houses will be expropriated. Excavation works will continue this year, too. We are waiting for additional funds from the Culture and Tourism Ministry. The Special Provincial District is also supporting the works, too," Demirkol said.

"The district is located on the site of the ancient city. We want to move it to an area of 500,000 square meters at the entrance of the district. The area has been allocated to Turkey's Housing Development Administration (TOK?). People will move to the houses to be built by TOK?. Their current houses should be immediately expropriated to unearth the historic city beneath. But since the expropriation is a slow and expensive process, we plan to move the settlement to another place," the mayor said.

Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Abdurrahman Akyüz said the ancient city was very important to Tokat.

"Excavation work was carried out here in the 1990s but it stopped for some reasons. After a 22-year hiatus, excavations started again three years ago and are continuing with the collaboration of Gaziosmanpa?a University, the museum directorate, the  Culture and Tourism...