Works Adding Value to Sille by Selçuklu Municipality

Sille, a 5 thousand-year-old historical settlement in Konya's Selçuklu district, takes its visitors to a magical atmosphere with its natural texture, caves, mosques and churches. The historical artifacts unearthed in the recent restoration and excavations of the Selçuklu Municipality reveal the past of the region.

RICH CULTURE

Sille is one of the regions that host a rich cultural heritage in Anatolia with its rich traditions and customs, handicrafts in different branches.

The ancient stone artifacts unearthed during the excavations in Sille, where artifacts from the Seljuk, Karamanoğlu, Ottoman and Republic periods are found, reveal that the history of the region goes back to the 8th century BC. Selçuklu Municipality almost brought the history to light as a result of its works without damaging the natural texture of Sille. 7 mosques (Ak Mosque, Çay Mosque, Subaşı Mosque, Orta Mosque, Mormi Mosque, Karataş Mosque and Mezaryaka Mosque) in Sille were renovated and opened to worship. Meanwhile, the baths, Sille Creek Bridge, waterways and aqueducts in Sille were renovated.

TIME TRAVEL WITH TIME MUSEUM

Many rare artifacts, which belong to Ottoman and Republican periods, related to ‘time’ are on display in Turkey's first ‘Time Museum’, which was founded in Sille Chapel in complete restoration by the Selçuklu Municipality within the scope of development of Sille tourism. There are specially designed clocks, booklets, pocket and desk calendars from the Ottoman and Republic periods and handwritten and printed calendars used in official offices among the interesting works of the museum.

AWARD-WINNING RESTORATION AYA ELENIA MUSEUM

Aya Elenia Church, one of the Byzantine period artifacts restored and converted into a museum by the Selçuklu Municipality, has been awarded in "Historical Cities Union Museum Encouragement" competition. Being one of the most important historical artifacts, the church is claimed to be built in Sille, where Helena, mother of Byzantine Emperor Constantine, stopped by during her pilgrimage to Jerusalem. With the figures of the Prophet Jesus, the Virgin Mary and the apostles the church has a history of about a thousand years. A Turkish repair inscription written in Greek letters on the interior door of the church provides information about the history of the church. This inscription is dated 1833. On the same inscription, there is another three-line inscription indicating that the church was repaired for the fourth time in the period of Sultan Abdulmecit.

SİLLE SUBAŞI TURKISH BATH

Subaşı Hamam, one of the two baths in Sille that has survived from the past to the present, regained its historical identity as a result of the restoration works carried out by the Selçuklu Municipality. Known to be built in the late 1800s, there are both men and women sections in the bath. The bathhouse, built of rubble stone and brick, was devastated by a fire many years ago. The items used in the past are exhibited in the Sille Bath, which was restored and landscaped by the Selçuklu Municipality.

SİLLE DAM PARK

Sille Dam Park, which was built in Konya by Selçuklu Municipality, brings thousands of people who want to get away from the stress of daily life and breathe with the lake view. In the park, there are many activity areas such as a scout camp center, boat promenade, kite hill, cafeterias, restaurants, wooden walkways, lawn amphitheater, children's playgrounds, sports fields.

THE SUBAŞI MOSQUE HAS BEEN RESTORED AND OPENED TO WORSHIP

Within the scope of the restoration work carried out in the Subaşı Mosque, the deep cracks on the walls of the mosque were repaired using the stitching method, which is frequently used in restoration. The problems in the statics of the buildings were resolved with the project implemented. The covering on the lower and upper floors of the mosques were changed in accordance with the original. Internal and external plasters and sheet metal coatings on the roof were replaced with the original material suitable for the project. In addition, while the conservation of architectural elements such as minbar, mihrab, pulpit and mahfil in the mosque, the late Ottoman minaret of the mosque has been renovated appropriate to its original form.