15 March 2010 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL
Turkey’s first archaeological restoration center will be established in the southeastern province of Gaziantep, Salih Efiloğlu, the province’s culture and tourism director, has said.
Speaking to the Anatolia news agency on Tuesday, Efiloğlu said they attach great importance to the establishment of the center. Stating that Turkey has long needed a center specialized in the restoration of archaeological artifacts, Efiloğlu noted that the center will be the first, not only in Turkey, but in the wider region as well because there are no restoration centers in neighboring countries. Efiloğlu noted that restoration and conservation of archaeological artifacts requires expertise, emphasizing the center’s importance. “We will start the construction of the restoration center this month, and we are planning to finish it in 2011. Many archaeological artifacts in Turkey are waiting to be restored, and this is an indication that Turkey has needed a restoration center for many years,” Efiloğlu said.Efiloğlu also announced that they are planning to build a convention center in Gaziantep in cooperation with the Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality. The convention center will have a capacity of 2,000 to 3,000 people. Efiloğlu said the convention center project was launched upon the request of the mayor of Gaziantep.
Efiloğlu added that both the archaeological restoration center and the convention center will attract many tourists to the region, underlining that Gaziantep will become a city of culture with many fairs and exhibitions. The construction of the convention center is scheduled to begin at the end of 2010 and is expected to finish in July or August 2011.
