Restoration and excavation work has resumed at the Saint Simon Monastery in southern Turkey after a pause of 60 years, and the site will host tourists once it is completed.
The monastery, located in Hatay province, is believed to have been built in the 6th century by Saint Simon.
With the excavation initiated by the Hatay Archeology Museum, mosaics on the church floor depicting animals are being unearthed.
The monastery’s architectural stones, some of which were destroyed due to things such as earthquakes, are also being numbered for restoration.
A team of 15 archeologists and scientists aim to unearth the church, baptistery, cistern, and architectural remains inside the monastery in the 20-decare excavation area.
Ayse Ersoy, director of the Hatay Archeology Museum, said religions, beliefs, and cultures have been blended in the ancient province from past to present.
She said the Saint Simon Monastery is the wealth of the province, noting that the first excavation work was carried out by the French in the 1930s and the second excavation work by the Georgians in the 1960s.
“We are conducting new excavations to hand down the cultural assets here to the next generations. The monastery’s walls, which were built with ashlar stones, were damaged by the earthquakes and have fallen prey to time,” she said.