The exhibition titled “The Image of Lystra in the Western World,” organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the International Council of Museums (ICOM) Turkey National Committee, Konya Metropolitan Municipality, Meram Municipality, and Necmettin Erbakan University, has opened.
Speaking at the opening of the exhibition held at Tantavi Culture and Art Center, Lystra Excavation Director Assoc. Prof. İlker Mete Mimiroğlu stated that the excavation works are progressing rapidly. Highlighting that Lystra was a highly renowned city, Assoc. Prof. Mimiroğlu said, “There are nearly 100 paintings and artworks depicting Lystra. In these works, European artists portrayed the Lystra of their imagination. With this small exhibition, our aim is to showcase and introduce the perspectives of these artists and what they envisioned.”
Mayor of Meram, Mustafa Kavuş, said, “Millions of tourists visit Konya. This is the city of Mevlana. As local administrations, our goal is both to shed light on the past and to increase the number of visitors coming to Konya. The discoveries from the Lystra excavations will be heard all around the world. I am sure that once people, especially Christians or history enthusiasts, hear that the well-known region is being unearthed, they will rush here in organized tours.”
Mayor of Konya Metropolitan Municipality, Uğur İbrahim Altay, reminded that, with reference to Çatalhöyük, Konya is one of the rare settlements in the world that has sustained urban life for nearly 10,000 years.
Emphasizing the importance of both the excavation works and the organization of such an exhibition featuring depictions of Lystra from around the world to highlight its significance, Mayor Altay said, “As Konya, we are preserving our history and aim to ensure that this contributes to the development of our city in terms of tourism. More than 3 million visitors come to see Hz. Mevlana and the Seljuk capital. Our municipalities have been making significant investments to encourage these visitors to stay longer in our city. Hopefully, by achieving our goals by 2029, we will all witness that the number of destinations in Konya has increased, its share of the tourism market has grown, and it has made a substantial contribution to Konya’s economy.”
The exhibition, which features visual representations of paintings by medieval artists depicting Lystra, as well as photographs of archaeological findings uncovered during the ongoing excavations in Lystra, will be open to visitors at the Tantavi Culture and Art Center until July 27.
Located within the borders of Gökyurt village in the Hatunsaray district of Meram, Lystra was one of the significant colonial cities of Rome during the Middle Ages. The ancient city also holds a special place in Christian history due to the arrival of Saint Paul.
