Court halts ‘rock reclamation’ project in Assos Ancient City
* Photo: Mount Ida Natural and Cultural Assets Preservation Association
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The Çanakkale 2nd Administrative Court has halted the execution of the "Assos Rock Reclamation" project in western Turkey.
In a statement regarding the court's decision of stay of execution for the project to be undertaken in the upper side of Assos Ancient City and Ancient Harbor, the Mount Ida Natural and Cultural Assets Preservation Association has said, "This decision handed down by the court has confirmed the scientific and legal concerns that we have had since the very beginning."
Halting the execution of the project, the Çanakkale 2nd Administrative Court has recalled that the area extending from the Ancient Harbor to Behramkale Village is a Grade 1 Archaeological Protected Site and some parts of it are Grade 1 Natural Protected Site. It has noted that the area where the Ancient Harbor is located is an archaeological urban protected site.
Accordingly, the court has found the related decision of the Çanakkale Regional Board for Protecting Cultural Assets against the resolutions no. 658 and 562 on the grounds that "in cases of disasters, Grade 1 Protected Sites shall receive minimum intervention in their ground; the decision does not indicate a duration and it was given without forming a science board."
In its statement on the court ruling, the Mount Ida Natural and Cultural Assets Preservation Association has requested that necessary research and practices be urgently undertaken so that the mistakes made in the region could be rectified and the current situation could be improved.
It has raised concerns that "while necessary measures could have been taken from a scientific approach and with less intervention, the natural and cultural landscape of Assos Ancient City has been destroyed by a wrong and irreversible intervention and by going beyond its purpose."
Noting that it cannot examine the area in more detail as entry to the site is forbidden, the Association has expressed "serious concerns that the current situation poses environmental and vital risks."
Calling for an assessment of the situation by experts in order to eliminate these concerns, ensure safety of life and property and take the necessary measures, the Association has said, "We are also concerned about the losses of income incurred by locals, villagers and tourism facilities due to the construction and we want the area to be opened to tourism as soon as possible. On the other hand, tourism in the region will no longer have any value without the natural and cultural assets of Assos."
What happened?
Located in Çanakkale's Ayvacık and dating back to 2000 BCE, the Assos Ancient Harbor, the Temple of Athena and amphitheater as well as the historical mosque, bridge, castle, stone house, hotels and restaurants would receive hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.
However, citing the rock falls, the Emergency and Disaster Management Presidency (AFAD) examined the area for nearly a year; the area was declared a "disaster zone" based on the report prepared.
Afterwards, the Ayvacık Sub-Governor's Office Union of Offering Services to Villages lodged the tender of "Ayvacık District Assos Rock Reclamation Work" on March 26, 2021. Winning the tender, Niday Construction Inc. started working in April 2021. The area was closed to touristic activities and entries for 500 days by the Governor's Office of Çanakkale.
Filming the works undertaken in the area, the Mount Ida Natural and Cultural Assets Preservation Association and Assos Friends group raised concerns that the works caused very serious damage and destruction and filed a criminal complaint to the Ayvacık Public Prosecutor's Office.
They also filed a lawsuit against the decision of the Çanakkale Regional Board for Protecting Cultural Assets dated December 16, 2020, which approved of the project to be undertaken in the Assos Ancient City Harbor, which is on the UNESCO Temporary World Heritage List and a Grade 1 Archaeological and Natural Protected Site. With this lawsuit, the groups demanded the stay of execution and the annulment of the decision on the grounds that it was "against the resolutions on Grade 1 historical and natural protected sites and against the law". (TP/SD)