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Courtesy Emre Arolat Architect
The Turkish architect Emre Arolat's vision for the Antakya Museum Hotel. According to the design plans, the archaeological site is preserved as a museum site and the hotel is situated 30 feet above.
ANTAKYA, Turkey – When Necmi AsfuroÄŸlu decided to build a hotel in Antakya, a small city in southern Turkey near the Syrian border, it made good business sense. The city, like the country, is in the middle of a growth spurt. Trade has been expanding and tourism from Turkey and other countries is on the rise.
AsfuroÄŸlu, who built his family firm on steel and concrete production, as well as textiles, moved into construction. He secured building permits, got a franchise from Hilton Hotels, had plans drawn up, brought in his project manager, and thought he’d have a working hotel within 18 months.
Three years later, his has to be one of the most ambitious hotel projects in the world. While digging the foundation of the building, workers found … the past. Lots of it.
“I thought the project was gone … dead,” said AsfuroÄŸlu, through an English translation by his son, Asaf AsfuroÄŸlu. Instead it has turned into much more.
‘Unparalleled discovery’
Authorities quickly turned what was going to be the hotel basement into a major archaeological site. For seven and a half months, Dr. Hatice Pamir, a professor of classical archaeology at Antakya’s Mustafa Kemal University, led almost 30 scientists from around the world, aided by about 100 workers, in a massive dig funded by AsfuroÄŸlu.
Geoff Tofield / NBC News
The father and son team of Asaf, left, and Necmi Asfuroglu look over plans of their hotel-preservation project in Antakya, Turkey.
With its long history involving the ancient Greeks, Romans, early Christians, Byzantines and Ottoman Turks – Turkey is full of layers of ancient culture. The modern city of Antakya was the ancient city of Antioch, one of the great cities of the Roman world that rivaled Alexandria during its heyday. It was also a center of early Christianity: St. Peter the Apostle, one of the founders of the Roman Catholic Church, was said to have lived and preached there for some time.
This city, known for the Cave Church of St. Peter (widely believe to be the first Christian church anywhere) and for fabulous Roman-era tile mosaics unearthed during excavations in the 1930s, now has another gem.
Experts believe they uncovered one of the largest intact tile mosaic floors in the world, measuring just over 9,000 square feet. In the course of the excavations, they also uncovered the remains of buildings and dwellings that go back perhaps 2,300 years.
There are a number of mosaics on the ancient floor. The largest probably belonged to a 6th century public building, possibly a house of government, according to Pamir. The floor is a series of nine side-by-side panels, each panel decorated by a wide variety of geometric patterns in different colors.
Right now the mosaic is covered over and not available for viewing by the public. Neither Pamir nor the Asforoglus have rights to release photos of the finds … so the anticipation builds.
Timothy Harrison, professor of Near East archaeology at the University of Toronto, has seen the site and was awed.
“This excavation, in my book, is unparalleled. It is one of the premier discoveries made on the planet in … I don’t know how long.” He added, “It’s a thorough excavation on a scale we very rarely see.”
AsfuroÄŸlu, the developer, is a little more expansive: “It was a summary of human history,” he said.
Geoff Tofield / NBC News
The huge mosaic discovered during the archaeological dig in Antakya, Turkey is covered in stones to preserve it until the hotel's construction is completed.
How to preserve history – with a modern twist?
Summary of history or not, AsfuroÄŸlu now had a vexing choice. He could have walked away, but says “that would have been a disaster.”
Preservation is expensive and under-funded, but moving the beautiful floors and other remarkable finds is unthinkable. His hotel project could continue, the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism said, but with challenging conditions: no concrete could touch any area of significance beneath the hotel, and the plan would have to incorporate a museum.
AsfuroÄŸlu consulted a number of designers, some of whom declared his challenge a pipe dream. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Architectural Commission were not optimistic. Then AsfuroÄŸlu consulted Turkish architect Emre Arolat, who was moved by the historical significance of the project.
Arolat’s plan seized upon an ancient riverbed running through the excavated property, a narrow strip which would allow for the placement of support columns. The architect’s design concept features a building which will sit about 30 feet above the site, with views of the site from common areas, even from the hotel’s rooms. There will also be museum-like access.
AsfuroÄŸlu and his son Asaf recount that the proposal literally brought applause from the Architectural Commission and Ministry board members.
With the preservation and design issues solved, actual construction is finally under way.
Courtesy Emre Arolat Architect / Courtesy Emre Arolat Architect
The Turkish architect Emre Arolat's design plan for the Antakya Museum Hotel. According to the design plans, the archaeological site is preserved as a museum site and the hotel is situated 30 feet above.
Combination of commerce and preservation
The support columns are being put in place after the holes, called valves, were completed (the irony is not lost on the AsfuroÄŸlus that some of the 66 valves, about 80 feet deep and 5 feet wide, were created just as they would have been 2,000 years ago).
The mosaics, the Roman buildings and everything else have been carefully re-covered until construction is complete. Costs have soared from an estimated $30 million to approximately $100 million.
It is, say father and son, a labor of love and a progressive combination of commerce and preservation.
Pamir, who led the field excavation, agrees: “This represents a positive example of the coordination between cultural heritage management and modern urban development.”
Harrison, the professor who has worked extensively in the area, applauds the pragmatism of the museum/hotel project.
“It’s a fair compromise; and a good job so far,” he said. “In a difficult situation, a good decision was made.”
“It will be a world-known project, and we are proud of it,” said Asaf AsfuroÄŸlu.
His father added, “It is a symbol of Antakya. I could have done three hotels for the cost of this one. But this is fun, a challenge, a pleasure.”
You can’t book your night at the museum just yet, but stay tuned. The Antakya Hilton Museum & Hotel should open in the spring of 2014.
Geoff Tofield is the Deputy Director of NBC News international news coverage.
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Leave a Comment:
New archeological excavations in Antioch?-very cool-but I wonder if they found the Holy Hand Grenade.
Yes, yes of course! The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch! 'Tis one of the sacred relics Brother Maynard carries with him!
You will pull the pin at the count of three. Not one, nor two, but three.
That rabbit's DYNAMITE!
And five is right out!!
"So, brave knights, if you do doubt your courage or your strength, come
no further, for death awaits you all with nasty, big, pointy teeth. "
"LOOKIT THE BONES!"
Really though, this is quite amazing, I wouldn't mind staying in a hotel like that and looking at ancient history up close and personal.
"It's got a vicious streak a mile long!"
Thank you for the laughs this morning.
Amazing story--Finally someone accepts a compromise to have both--expensive hotel and historical dig-site. Contrats to this guy--wish other business men would take a page from his book.
Athens has a major archaeological museum at the foot of the Acropolis. It is build over an archaeological dig with glass floors and is spectacular. The connection of artifacts to their source adds an incredible amount to the value of the museum.
Yes Archaeology is very cool. I just wonder if they dig down far enough back in time they might find the Altar of Lost Virginity dedicated to Paris. Who knows?
This is a great idea and the novelty of it will probably bring a lot of guests to the hotel that might have otherwise stayed somewhere else. I think in the long run, the additional costs associated with balancing the preservation of the site with the construction of the hotel will pay off for them in the increased interest in staying at this unique hotel.
cool
Bravo and congratulations! I am thrilled to learn of your project. I'll be teaching another mosaic workshop in Istanbul in 2014 and I've already planned a trip back to Antakya to see the new museum. Now I know where I'll be staying. I just posted a link to this article about your project on my Facebook mosaics page to almost 5,000 followers. Book my room!
I would love to see the art of making mosaic floors come back into style. They last forever, almost. Look at how many archeological sites have the mosaic floor as the main thing that survived.
Very cool! Can't wait to stay there!
There is a massive growth spurt in "archeological tourism" in southern Turkey near the Syrian border. There has aleays be Ephesus, but many tourists are dismayed at how limited and commercialized the Ephesus site is. But recently a site called Gobekli Tepe has been discovered that goes back between 11,000 and 15,000 years and is in pristine (like new) condition considering the age. The site is home to as many as 20 temples or clan buildings or mortuaries (there is still debate.) The buildings are circular and have massive beautifully carved pillars with extreme bas relief carvings on some. While the walls are stacked stone, the floors are terra cota. The buildings appear to have thousands of years of use. They are in such good condition because apparently their use was seasonal and when they were not used, they were buried in cleaned dirt, protecting them from the elements (and possible enemies.) This site pushes human habitation and the existence of religion back thousands of years and is the most important archeological discovery of the 20th century. There will eventually be a massive tourist industry around this site that will make Stonehenge look like a primitive site from thousands of years later (which it is.) I am really surprised that the article did not mention the site.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6bekli_Tepe If you have any interest in such things at all, the pictures are truly astounding.
Gobekli Tepe is one of the most significant archaeological finds of our times. It is literally challenging the very foundations of our theories about the origin and rise of civilization. I just returned from a two week tour of Turkey's western and central archaeological sites and I was totally awed by the breadth and depth of human history that is preserved there and presented to the public for all to learn about and enjoy.
The Turkish people were all very friendly and very welcoming! It was a great vacation and I look forward to returning - this time to visit the South, to stay at this new hotel and to view Gobekli Tepe!
Agree, many archaelological sites, but keep in mind that Turkey is one of the few countries in the world where its archaelological sites and treasures have absolutely no historical or any other relation with Turks, and that is a fact, not an opinion.
Congrats to this family for thinking forward. It does make think of how wonderful things have lost because of greed. I can't travel because I don't have the money to do so but I enjoy the pictures of these of finds and can't wait to see this find when it is released. This is history and it should be saved. Again Congrats guys.
I think these guys will make up the additional cost in tourism so it's a win win situation.
This is a beautiful feat of preservation. To think that in a thousand years or so, someone else is going to unearth the ruins of the hotel and wonder what civilization built it!
Turkey sure has some amazing archaeological sites!
It would have been nice if the report had a few pictures of the tile floor or did I miss it.
Father and son don't hold the "rights" to publish photos of the floor. I read into it that the government is holding off for a premier of some sort. I may be wrong but that's my take.
"The mosaics, the Roman buildings and everything else have been carefully re-covered until construction is complete. Costs have soared from an estimated $30 million to approximately $100 million. "
"Right now the mosaic is covered over and not available for viewing by the public. Neither Pamir nor the Asforoglus have rights to release photos of the finds … so the anticipation builds. "
Reading comprehension is a lost skill.
The article sounded like there's no pictures yet because of some kind of copyright dispute.
No the floor is covered and will be uncovered at the offical viewing. The article said there has only been a handful of people that have seen it. It is staying covered throught out the project/building, for protection.
Somebody is going to make money off copyrights. I hope it does back into the excavation.
Truly an inspiring undertaking. Where I live it's "to H**l with the historical significance, tear it down and build a Wally World".
On the upside, most of the places with that attitude don't have much history to dig up in the first place.
Good stuff. People need to discover their past and realize the impact of our ancestors on shaping today.
This family deserves a medal for their humanity and recognition that ancient history belongs to the people of the world, it is not the property of a 'self appointed' few to destroy at will because it does not agree with their religious belief system nor does a terror based system for control of the human race have a right to erase it.
When history is destroyed, or altered by intent, the world is denied a portal to the past which has helped us to arrive in the present and, should be available to guide us into the future. It doesn't really matter much, what that history was, it has defined who we are today and to whom we will become tomorrow and we should respect and honor what it has done for us.
With or without any god and with or without the prophets, the messengers or the written word, that history has created religions and destroyed religions, governments and peoples and the future. Should we forget some of our ancients had Sharia, Germany had a murderous despot, and today the world is moving to democracies and new law fundamentally based on ancient law?
I think I'll put this hotel at the top of my bucket list but, I'll be lucky if I make it east of the Mississippi so I won't ask them to leave a light on for me.
I'm just sayin!
What a fantastic idea this is. I'll bet the rooms are booked solid for years to come. I would sure like to rent a room there one day.
holy hell.. a business man with a conscience.... where are we... bizarro earth?
Hey Mitt... I bet they didn't even ask for a tax credit or "carried interest" to do the project.. and it created jobs!!!!
i went to family harvest church in tinley park and the pastor robb thomposn was a turkey, does that count
No rob, that would be under wildlife preservation ... and also we must take issue with your comparison.
The wild turkey is a highly intelligent and noble creature ... and we take offense on the turkey's behalf :c)
If I was a venture capitalist, I would secretly do demolition work at night, pay the 10 million dollar fine and build a 30 million dollar hotel for 40 million dollars instead of 100 million to preserve history.
I may even be nice and throw in a replica...hah!
Too bad this project doesn't tie at all back into political stupidity back in the states...there must be commentators dying to stick it back to POTUS.
... is this Donald Trump posting anonymously? .... I wonder!
I can find nothing but respect for this man. How many developers would have just walked away? The world needs lots more like him.
they also uncovered the remains of buildings and dwellings that go back perhaps 2,300 years.
One of the most secular and forward looking Turks took a backward march by electing the Islamic fundamentalist Ergodan and his party.
Hopefully Turks will tolerate them.
Even Afghanistan region had a rich culture and tradition before the followers of Islamic cult took over.
The current backward looking followers of Islamic cult like Taliban could not even put up with the Buddha’s structure.
"widely believe to be the first Christian church anywhere"
Believed. The word is believed.
Very cool story. Cudos to the builder.
This is a wonderful story. If I'm ever in the neighborhood, I know what hotel I want to stay at.