Cappadocia Archaeological Excavations
The road connecting Ortahisar and Göreme Town in the Cappadocia Region, built in 1956, was closed to traffic 2 years ago with the completion of the new road. Excavations initiated on the old road are still ongoing.
Cappadocia Area Manager Birol İnceciköz provided information about the work carried out and said, “The reason we closed the old road in this area, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, is that we determined that there were more than one rock site and void as a result of the archaeological and geophysical studies we carried out here. For this reason, the road was closed and excavations began in the region.”
Archaeological Excavations
Explaining the purpose of the work in the excavation area, İnceciköz said, “We plan to reorganize the Göreme Open Air Museum to cover a wider area and present it to visitors as an archaeological park. Intensive work continues in archaeological excavations. Within the scope of the ‘Legacy for the Future’ project, income from tourism is provided as financial support for cultural investments and archaeological excavations.”
- Extensive excavations are planned to be carried out in 2025.
- The excavation area is aimed to be opened to visitors as an archaeological park in 2026.
Fighting Against Illegal Buildings
Emphasizing that they are fighting against illegal construction in the region as the Cappadocia Area Presidency, İnceciköz said, “We have ensured the removal of nearly 500 illegal structures and identified nearly 600 illegal structures. The process of removing the identified illegal structures is ongoing.”
| What has been done | Plans |
|---|---|
| Removal of nearly 500 illegal structures | Detection of nearly 600 illegal structures |
| Closing of old road to traffic | Extensive excavations in 2025 |
| Creating an archaeological park with the Heritage to the Future project | The archaeological park will be opened to visitors in 2026 |
