Culture Minister visits Aizanoi

Turkish officials are hopeful that the ancient city of Aizanoi in the inner Aegean province of Kütahya will soon become "a second Ephesus," according to Culture and Tourism Minister Nabi Avcı.

"The ancient site of Aizanoi is placed to become the second Ephesus. The ministry will do its best to promote this place to the world with various events," he said during a visit to Çavdarhisar, which is close to the ancient site.

Avcı said the ancient city was home to the biggest-size surviving Temple of Zeus and also held importance because it was the site of the first stock exchange in the world. 

"Construction started here in the first century B.C. This historical structure is a rare one. There is one more layer below this structure that might have served as an exhibition or concert hall. There is also an ancient stadium and a theater in the region. Traces from Turks can be seen here, too. This place had been home to many civilizations since the past. This historic archaeological field deserves to be included in the World Heritage List. It was included in the temporary list of UNESCO in 2012," the minister said. 

Avcı said the artifacts around were the ones that had been unearthed during excavations.

"Since multi-layer settlement did not exist at that time, there is a settlement in a wider area in this region. I hope they will be unearthed through time. Unfortunately, we don't know this place enough and we haven't been able to promote it to the world. But this place deserves to become an attractive tourist site," he said. 

A symphonic concert event will be organized at the beginning of the excavation season in May next year to promote Aizanoi to the world, said Avcı. "I hope this place will become a center of attraction...