Turkey Hotels

More ancient theatres discovered in Turkey

While lovers of ancient monuments may think that they have to head to the Greek islands or go on Italy holidays in order to see the best of what Europe has to offer, this may not be the case.



Turkey's minister of culture and tourism Atilla Koc has revealed that, in fact, the number of ancient theatres in the country surpasses those in Italy or Greece.

Though previously estimated as 110, the actual number of ancient theatres in the country has been found to be almost double that number at 206, perhaps making Turkish holidays even more appealing to history fans.

Mr Koc said that restoration and reconstruction work at each of the important sites had commenced, pledging that the country would do its utmost to care for the newly-discovered historical assets, local newspaper Today's Zaman reports.

Meanwhile, almost 20,000 historic sites and 3,000 ancient villages in Turkey await excavation, with digs currently underway at 120 - 80 of them by Turkish archaeologists and 40 by foreign archaeologists.

"Let's discover the cultural heritage of Turkey together," Mr Koc commented.

Nearly 1.8 million British visitors went on Turkey holidays in 2005, according to statistics from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

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