Rock tombs of Turkey's Şanlıurfa to open to tourism

Rock tombs nearly 2,000 years old, which have been unearthed in caves in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, are to be opened to tourists after excavations are completed. 

The historical city of Şanlıurfa, home to myriad civilizations in its millennia-old history, is a leading spot for faith and culture tourism in Turkey. 

Ancient caves were unearthed during restoration and environmental arrangement works in the city's Kale Eteği and Kızılkoyun districts, where shanty houses had been previously built. Inside the uncovered caves a total of 113 rock tombs were found. 

A number of figures and four floor mosaics were discovered in the rock tomb chambers within the scope of the ongoing works, carried out in collaboration with the provincial culture and tourism directorates, museum directorates and the Şanlıurfa Municipality. 

Mayor Nihat Çiftçi said Şanlıurfa was a city of culture and had been home to many civilizations. Each excavation in the city unearthed artifacts from different overlaid periods, he added. 

"Restoration and environmental works have unearthed 72 caves in the Kale Eteği district and 61 in Kızılkoyun district. The caves have rock tombs inside. These rock tombs date back to the 1st century A.D, from the era of Edessa King Abgar. We have also found mosaics on the ground of the ancient tombs, depicting the figures of this era. Families that lived in this era were buried in tombs in these caves," Çiftçi said.  

He added that they aimed to turn Şanlıurfa into a kind of "open-air museum." 

"We will open the Kale Eteği area to tourism in three-four months. We always say that Şanlıurfa is a city of caves. These caves were settlements in the past. Therefore ancient civilizations left their traces...