Turkish war cemeteries in Balıkesir revealed to hold Byzantine graves

The Balıkesir Garrison Command had commissioned a study of the cemeteries, which are located in Balıkesir's Erdek district. Erdek District Governor İsmail Kaygısız said: “The command has reported that the cemeteries are actually graves dating back to Byzantine times. So we cancelled the Victory Day celebrations on Aug. 30, which are normally held at the war cemeteries.”

Zeliha Doğan from the Bandırma Museum Directorate expressed caution about the findings. “The Bursa Cultural and Natural Heritage Directorate wanted to learn the opinion of the Bandırma Museum Directorate about the issue. So, excavations were carried out on the area where the war cemeteries are located. We, as the Bandırma Museum Directorate, prepared a report based on the date obtained from the digs and sent it to the Bursa Cultural and Natural Heritage Directorate. There are cemeteries of soldiers killed in World War I in the area. However, the final judgment on the issue of determining whether the cemeteries in reality date back to Byzantine times is up to the Bursa Cultural and Natural Heritage Directorate.”