Excavation work to uncover the Larende Gate and sections of the city walls, one of the key components of the Darülmülk Project, is continuing.
Konya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Uğur İbrahim Altay inspected the ongoing excavation works being carried out to uncover the Larende Gate and city walls, one of the most important components of the Darülmülk Project.
Providing Mayor Altay with information about the works being conducted in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Konya Museum Director Ömer Faruk Türkan said they were carrying out an extensive excavation of the outer walls.
“These walls are extremely important both for the history of Konya and for Seljuk history. The findings and architectural remains we have uncovered are very encouraging. Hopefully, we will make them accessible and visible to the public. Our work will continue. We would like to thank everyone who has contributed to these efforts, particularly Konya Metropolitan Municipality,” he said.
Konya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Uğur İbrahim Altay said the excavation on Larende Street was revealing the realization of a long-held ambition.
“As you may remember, this area was previously occupied by a cluster of shops selling construction materials. As part of the urban transformation project, we relocated these businesses to their new site on the Ereğli road and removed the shops here. We then began excavations at the location where we believed Konya’s outer city walls had stood. I did not expect them to have been preserved to such an extent. I would particularly like to thank the team conducting the archaeological excavations around the Larende Gate. As a result of their meticulous work, a large section of the wall has been uncovered, and reconstruction efforts are now underway,” he said.
Noting that they had reached Konya’s outer walls as a whole for the first time, Mayor Altay continued:
“In the past, small sections were discovered during various excavations and preserved, but the findings now emerging between Sahib Ata and Sırçalı are significant enough to become part of the historical record of Konya and the Seljuks. Once the work is completed, we will witness the rediscovery of the Seljuk city walls and the Larende Gate. A great deal of effort has gone into this. We thank everyone working at the excavation site. I would also like to thank our Museum Directorate, which has made a major contribution to managing this process from the very beginning.
“When the work is completed, Sahib Ata Madrasa, the Larende Gate and Sırçalı Madrasa will form a historical axis that will become an important part of Konya’s history. Within the area known as Suriçi, we are carrying out restoration, expropriation and reconstruction works simultaneously as part of the Darülmülk Project. In fact, what we are doing is putting the pieces of a puzzle together one by one, revealing work that will shed light on Konya’s history. I thank everyone who has contributed.”
Mayor Altay said the works were being carried out meticulously and that they hoped to present the results to the people of Konya as soon as possible.
“Since the site has not yet reached a stage where it can be fully presented to the public, we are coming here and providing updates. However, we hope to share this project, which will leave its mark on Seljuk history, much more extensively with the public once it is ready. I thank everyone who has contributed. Our colleagues working at the Conservation, Implementation and Inspection Offices (KUDEB), our Planning and Urban Development Department, our Museum Directorate, the archaeologists working on the excavation and our workers are all making a lasting contribution to history.
“I have also asked our academics to document the story of this project from beginning to end. This will ensure that every finding we uncover is properly recorded. In this way, another cultural axis is emerging. Perhaps, as excavations continue in the future, we will witness the discovery of other sections of the walls as well. But even the Larende Gate, towers and walls uncovered so far represent a discovery that will have an impact on Konya’s history. We pray that we will be granted the opportunity to complete this work. Our colleagues are working hard in this heat. I thank them.”
