Tofaş's contribution to Hierapolis's tourism record

One of them is Hierapolis, the most important health and textile center of the ancient times, situated in the southwestern province of Pamukkale.

The other one is Tofaş, a leading company in the automotive industry which last year made up 22 percent of Turkey's automobile production on its own. The reason I write about them is the continuous sponsorship of Tofaş since 2005 to Hierapolis, which has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1988.

We are travelling around the ancient city, situated near the travertines of Pamukkale, together with Tofaş CEO Cengiz Eroldu for the occasion of the 60th anniversary of excavations carried out by an Italian team.

The Italian head of the excavations, Professor Francesco D'Adria, who contributed immensely to the current appearance of Hierapolis, leaving behind 40 years, speaks with enthusiasm.

Hierapolis breaks a tourism record with its 12,000 thousand-people capacity theatre, completed in 2013 with the support of Tofaş, its necropolis spread on a large area, the Frontinus Door and its wide road, houses with frescos and church. 

From time to time, Hierapolis gets ahead of Ephesus and Hagia Sophia in terms of the number of tourists visiting the premise. It was visited by 2.2 million people in 2014.

Some 1.85 million people visited Hierapolis in 2015. But because of last year's crisis, this number is expected to be 1.5 million for this year.

The restoration of Plutonium known as the "Hell's Gate," called as such because of the thermal waters that created the travertines of Pamukkale and the carbon dioxide that comes out of the earth, is going on.

Hierapolis will undoubtedly break a new record in tourism when it opens next year.

"The increase in the...