A 5,000-year-old History Is Being Revived

With its caves, churches, historical artifacts uncovered through restoration and excavation works, Sille reveals a history of 5 thousand years. In Sille, which hosts a rich cultural accumulation in Anatolia with its traditions and customs and handicraft products in different branches, the works belonging to the Roman, Seljuk, Karamanoğulları and Ottoman periods are protected as historical and cultural heritage. For this purpose, history is revived with the works carried out by Konya Selçuklu Municipality without damaging the natural texture of Sille. The restoration of Ak Mosque, Çay Mosque, Subaşı Mosque, Orta Mosque, Mormi Mosque, Karataş Mosque and Mezaryaka Mosque was completed and opened for worship. Baths, Sille Creek Bridge, waterways and aqueducts were restored and street sanitation works were carried out so that pedestrians could easily walk on the streets.

The Hagia Elenia Church belonging to the Byzantine Period, one of the symbols of Sille, was turned into a museum and opened to tourists. As the fruit of Konya Selçuklu Municipality's efforts, the Hagia Elenia Museum was deemed worthy of an award in the "Historical Cities Union Museum Incentives" competition. Sille Chapel, the restoration of which was completed within the scope of the "Loyalty to History Project", was brought to tourism as the Time Museum.

Selçuklu Mayor Ahmet Pekyatmacı, in his information about the "Rock Reclamation Project" carried out in the Sille Neighborhood, says that the project, which is carried out meticulously according to technical procedures without disturbing the silhouette, is the most comprehensive work in Turkey after the Sümela Monastery. Thanks to the project, Sille, which hosts different civilizations and is one of the important tourism destinations, is becoming safer. In the works, large volume rock blocks that are in danger of falling are cleaned up, creating a safer environment for both residents and visits.

Pekyatmacı hosted members of the press in Sille, where the works are continuing, and explained the works on the spot.

Selçuklu Mayor Ahmet Pekyatmacı says that the Sille Rock Reclamation Study is the most comprehensive work in Turkey after the reclamation works at the Sümela Monastery. Mayor Pekyatırımmacı draws attention to what has been done so far regarding the work that will cost 18 million liras:

"Different studies, projects and reports were made. But we started the latest study in 2019. 3D photos of the entire area were extracted. The rocks were numbered one by one and the rocks that posed a danger and were likely to fall were identified. After the technical reports, a project emerged as a result of negotiations with all relevant institutions. We started to implement the comprehensive project with the tender we made in 2021. According to the numbers and markings of the rocks, those that need to be broken are broken, and those that need to be lowered are lowered. Upper covers are being created to prevent the existing rocks from creating a negative situation in the future. First the anchorages are made, then they are covered with the application of a reinforced combined mesh. We can't dispose of all the rocks. In fact, the rocks here have become the silhouette of Sille. We need to keep it. In this sense, we identify the most dangerous, riskiest rocks. We dispose of them, we take them down. We also preserve the rocks other than that. Not only the work on the upper side, but also the lower side we create steel barriers to prevent the negative impact of rocks that may fall down in the future. 2 steel barriers will be created. Finally, an earthen wall will be built on Dam Street. After this wall, both Baraj Street and the upper area of Sille will be removed from the disaster-stricken area.”