May of 2020 was the month of many restoration projects. The restoration of the 800-year-old Obruk Han in Konya Province, built by the Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I, was continued. Meanwhile, restoration work was resumed on the historical Sümela Monastery, in the northern Trabzon province. The restoration work had been suspended due to adverse weather conditions and as part of measures to combat the coronavirus outbreak. Moreover, Mor Kiryakus Monastery, built on a 2,500 square meter area in Batman in the 5th century, is planned to be restored in three stages. Finally, it was announced that a historical clock tower in Antalya, one of the landmarks of the touristic Mediterranean province, will return to its original state after undergoing restoration.

It was at this time last year that I had first heard, from a Turkish friend who works alongside the archaeologists, the whisper that the ‘small finds’ house, next to the Temple of Apollo precinct, was to have its contents moved to the Miletus Museum or the Excavation House in Didyma.

Upon inquiring as to why this should be necessary he told me that the house was to be opened to the public. Intriguing, but no great revelation therein. Though when he expanded his reasoning to reveal that this would be a prelude to the Sacred Road being reopened to the public my happiness reached euphoric levels.

Text by Glenn Maffia