Excavations in the Ancient City of Patara, one of the important ruins of our country, started in 1988. The work in Patara, which was an excavation determined by the Council of Ministers, was carried out by the founding head of the Archeology Department of Akdeniz University Faculty of Letters, Prof., until 2008. Dr. It was carried out under the chairmanship of Fahri Işık, and since 2009, the founding faculty member of the same department, Prof. Dr. Havva İşkan Işık took over.
Within the scope of the project initiated in 2016, Türkiye İş Bankası, together with its subsidiaries Şişecam and TSKB, contributes to the excavations carried out in the Ancient City of Patara. Central urban settlement covering an area of more than 120 hectares; There is a lighthouse built by the Roman Emperor Nero, a parliament building where the Lycian League, which was reported by Montesquieu to have “the most perfect Republic model in the world”, held its meetings, a City Gate that has survived to the present day, Patara, which is considered as the epigraphic find of the century. Road Monument (Monumentum Patarense) and II. It contains unique structures such as the first Wireless Telegraph Station of the Ottoman Empire, built by Abdulhamit.
In the program of excavations, it is envisaged to first uncover, conserve and restore structures such as the Emperor Nero Bath, Exedra, Aleipterion, Stoa, Agora, Central Bath and Small Bath in the center of the ancient city. In addition, the restoration of the Harbor Bath and the Harbor (Corinthian) Temple, which were included in the list of “very valuable structures in danger” by the World Monument Fund, is also on the agenda.
Head of Excavation Prof. Dr. The book titled “Patara: City Port Cult” prepared by Havva İşkan was published by Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları in 2019.
