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* Heavy equipment entered Phaselis shores of Antalya on Tuesday
* Ministry is to build two bathing beaches within the protected archeological site
* Two separate lawsuits were brought in order to stop the project
Phaselis was a Greek and Roman city on the coast of ancient Lycia. Its ruins are located north of the modern town Tekirova in the Kemer district of Antalya province in Türkiye. It lies between the Bey Mountains and the forests of Olympos National Park.
The Chamber of Landscape Architects and 14 residents of the region separately went to court last month against a plan to build bathing beaches and facilities for daily visitors on two shores of Phaselis.
The construction, however, has started and images of heavy equipment entering the site were posted by many on social media on Tuesday (February 28).
The opponents of the project point out that there is no Environmental Impact Assessment report for it and also that the plan is contradictory with the Beydağları National Park development plan and the resolutions related to the protection of natural heritage.
More than a thousand cubic meters of concrete and also PVC, iron, and aluminum materials will be used in the construction of the project along with wood.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism awarded the contract of the project to a restoration company centered in İstanbul on January 30, 2023.
"Cancel the wrong decision"
The company started the work and brought heavy equipment to the ancient site on Tuesday.
Phaselis Antik Kenti'ne çivi çakmak bile yasak...
— Çetin Osman Budak (@CetinOsmanBudak) February 28, 2023
Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı halk plajı yapmak için ihaleye çıktı.
Yandaş şirket iş makinelerini antik kente soktu.
Bakan Ersoy depremden mal kaçırıyor...
Phaselis yağmalanıyor... pic.twitter.com/zBNxkkjBnE
Activists of the initiative called "Do not touch Phaselis" made a call for the officials to cancel "this wrong decision." They invited all local governments, the people in the region, and all citizens to be in solidarity and take common action in order to protect this heritage for future generations.
The National Park where Phaselis is located was identified as a protected area in 1972 for its natural and historical heritage. (TY/PE)
