Stratonikeia - Ancient theater in Turkey in need of restoration sponsor

A 2,400-year-old theater in the ruins of Stratonikeia, an ancient city in the Aegean province of Mugla’s Yatagan district, is in need of surface cleaning and restoration, but the work requires a financial sponsor.

“The last restoration of the 15,000-person ancient theater was carried out in the 4th century B.C. The theater has not undergone restoration for 1,600 years,” said the excavation’s chairman, Associate Professor Bilal Sögüt.

According to Sögüt, the financing provided by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism is insufficient and the excavation needs the sponsorship of socially conscious businesspeople.

“We are continuing excavations with the support of the ministry and Pamukkale University. This ancient theater has magnificent acoustics. We want to revive this theater and make it a home to operas and various events,” Sögüt said.

“Reviving such a structure would provide a great employment opportunity in this region. This is why we are calling on our businesspeople to contribute to the theater,” the associate professor added. “We will need nearly 300,000 Turkish Liras annually and estimate that work will be done in three years.”

Sögüt said 12 columns had been unearthed thus far in the northern part of the ancient city, adding that they planned to write the names of sponsors on the columns.