Ancient Hellenistic Towers in Antalya Being Restored

Conservation, restoration and integration works have been initiated for the Hellenistic towers in the ancient city of Perge in the southern province of Antalya in Turkey. The work was carried out by the Antalya Directorate of Surveying and Monuments.

Perge (Perga in Greek) was once a very important city in the region of Pamphylia and the ancient ruins of Perge are located about 18 km east of Antalya near the town of Aksu, Turkey. It was an important city originally settled by the Hittites around 1500 B.C. Perge is located near the Kestros River and was originally a port city on a major trade route. Perga was a wealthy Greek city during the Hellenistic period, however, when the whole bay area silted up, that ended Perga’s port city status and sea trade.

The Hellenistic towers, Perge’s most significant structure, is one of the remaining pre-Roman structures at the site. It dates back to the 3rd century BC, this gate, consisting of two towers with a horse-shoe shaped court behind them, was clearly designed according to the defensive strategy of the day.

Restoration of the gigantic towers began in 2002 by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Within the scope of the restoration project, Prota provided damage assessment, seismic assessment, in-situ drawings, restitution and restoration and retrofitting designs for the Hellenistic Towers in Perge antique site. The towers were taken under protection in 2007 with the steel construction method, in order to prevent the stones from falling, or a possible collapse.

Antalya Surveying and Monuments Director Cemil Karabayram states that the tender has been finished for the restoration of the towers. The restoration project has a budget of 2.5 million Turkish Liras.

"Nearly 2,000 stones in the tower were classified. Now the proper stones will be used again in the restoration. The restoration will be complete in mid-2019. After the restoration, the steel frames will be removed from the towers. The stones were examined one by one and the project was approved by the relevant preservation board. At the moment, it is evident where most of the stones will go. When the work is complete, we will be able to open 70-80 percent of the Hellenistic towers for tourism. The project will be carried out under the consultancy of academics and scientists."