(TAN): The Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry has declared 2020 as the year of Patara, the ancient city located in the southern province of Antalya’s Kaş district, reports said.
The move was aimed at attracting tourists to one of the country’s most significant archaeological sites, according to reports.
Professor Havva İşkan Işık, the head of the Patara ancient city excavations, reportedly said Patara is a historic city that can also be called the foundation of civilisations.
“This is one of the most special cities of Anatolia, the cradle of civilizations,” she was quoted by Hurriyet Daily News as saying.
As per reports, Patara, which will be the focus of Turkey’s tourism policy, was the capital of the ancient Lycian civilization and functioned as one of its chief naval and trading ports, situated at the mouth of the Xanthos River.
Patara is reportedly hailed as the birthplace of St. Nicholas or Santa Claus, a Christian bishop in the Lycian town of Myra. He was known for helping the destitute, and after his death, this attribute was turned into a legend of Santa Claus bringing Christmas gifts to children across the globe.
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Patara was influenced by various cultures over centuries – while it surrendered to Alexander the Great in 333 B.C., the Roman general Brutus seized Patara in 42 B.C., and the Byzantine and Ottoman civilisations afterwards, as per reports.
Mustafa Siyahhan, a tourism sector expert at Bilkent University in the capital of Ankara, reportedly said the country’s cultural assets were “priceless and irreplaceable”.
“If we promote Patara as a tourism asset, we should ensure its continuity and permanence,” Siyahhan was quoted by Anadolu Agency as saying.
