Mayor Altay: "We work to reveal Konya's walls as a capital and increase its tourism potential"

Konya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Uğur İbrahim Altay stated that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Konya Metropolitan Municipality are carrying out a significant project to uncover Konya's outer walls, the centre of the Darülmülk Project, at the excavation site of the Larende Gate and city walls.

He said, "We aim to uncover Konya's city walls as a capital and make a significant contribution to its brand value. Our most important goal is to attract more tourists to Konya and capture a share of this economic growth. As part of the Greater Larende Transformation project, which we carried out with the Meram Municipality, we relocated 78 shops here. We are currently conducting a significant archaeological excavation. Once the restoration work, we have carried out as part of the Darülmülk Project is complete, we will all witness the further expansion of this potential."

A Large Archaeo-park

Konya Museum Director Ömer Faruk Türkan stated that they are working to uncover the Larende Gate. "Currently, 70 percent of the gate has been uncovered. As we know from 19th-century engravings and sources, this is the section where the gate is located; we are in the perfect spot. We have determined that the gate's entrance is more towards the west. We will also excavate and uncover the remainder of the outer walls, including the moat in front of it. We will create a large archaeological park in this area."

Mayor Altay said that "Konya was the capital of the Seljuk State for 200 years and during this period, very important historical works were built, but many of them did not survive today. We are conducting a significant project to uncover Konya's outer city walls, the center of the Darülmük Project.

I hope that upon completion, we will first complete the reconstruction and then the completion of the project, which will revitalize the historical fabric of the entire area within Konya's outer city walls. As part of the Great Larende Transformation project, which we are carrying out with the Meram Municipality, we relocated 78 shops here. We are currently conducting a significant archaeological excavation. Our goal is to uncover the Larende Gate. Initial findings are promising. This will mark the beginning of work on uncovering, reconstructing, and rebuilding the Larende Gate, located opposite Sahip Ata."