Café owner Halil Çakmak said he had “no ill intentions” regarding the installation but wanted to “contribute to the development” of the local area.
Salim UzunThe ancient Phrygian tomb was illegally converted into a café before the owner was forced to cease business.
Experts have issued a warning that irreversible damage may have been done to a 3,000-year-old Phrygian rock tomb in Turkey after it was illegally transformed into a café called Taş Bahçe, or “Stone Garden.”
The tomb, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List, was controversially modified with carpets, wooden seating, lighting fixtures, and a chimney heating system. The move drew outrage from experts and the public alike, who called the café “cultural destruction.”
Early reporting prompted Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism to intervene, but the damage — which included drilling into the rock and running electrical cables — cannot be undone.
An Ancient Rock Tomb Illegally Converted Into A Café
Salim UzunDiners at the café, seated on a carpet laid out in the tomb.
The first report about this illegal café came from Hürriyet journalist Salim Uzun, who revealed that the operators of the business had decorated the tomb by nailing and drilling directly into the rock itself and running electrical wiring through the ancient tomb.
In the winter months, they closed off the historical chambers with transparent doors and heated the tomb with a chimney system and coal and wood stoves. They even set up a swing in front of the structure. All of this, Uzun noted, was entirely unauthorized by the Conservation Area Board.
Salim UzunDecorations outside the 3,000-year-old tomb.
“Let alone adding tables and chairs to a registered structure, installing electricity, turning it into a café or restaurant, you can’t even approach it from a certain distance,” said archaeologist Nevzat Çevik. “This is not ignorance. They know that this is an important structure.”
One photograph of a decorated room posted to Stone Garden’s social media account featured the caption, “The glory of the stone rooms.”
Çevik was not alone in condemning the café’s owners. Per Anatolian Archaeology, archaeologist Ahmet Levent Zeybek said, “These rock tombs are among the world’s most important cultural heritages. Using them for commercial purposes seriously threatens their original texture and historical value.”
Professor Havva Işkan Işik called the café “a denial of culture that has lasted thousands of years. Interventions like this amount to cultural destruction.”
In the initial reporting, Çevik called for the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to intervene, saying the café’s presence was “unacceptable.” The ministry responded quickly once officials were made aware of the issue.
Despite the controversy and blatant illegality, however, the café’s owner, Halil Çakmak, said he had “no ill intentions.”
Café Owner Wanted To ‘Contribute To The Development’ Of The Region
Salim UzunDecorations inside the tomb.
According to Çakmak, his goal in transforming the ancient tomb into a café was to drive local tourism.
“We wanted to contribute to the development of our region,” Çakmak said. “We applied for the necessary permits and paid certain usage fees. However, no fees were paid specifically for the tomb area. After the controversy, we ceased all activities inside the tomb and will continue operations only in the surrounding area.”
Çakmak’s previous actions, though, seem to indicate knowledge of the illegality.
Salim UzunThe Phrygian tomb without the furniture and decor of the café.
“A tip was made before, but the tables and chairs were collected before the inspection,” said Birol İnceciköz of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. “All the procedures here amount to unauthorized intervention… You cannot build such an infrastructure in a registered structure without permission. We have also initiated the necessary legal action.”
After Uzun’s report, the illegal installations in the tomb were completely removed. All carpets and couches were taken from the site, the electrical wiring was dismantled, and officials did their best to restore the tomb to its original condition.
After reading about this illegal Turkish café built inside an ancient tomb, learn about 15 UNESCO sites in the Middle East on the brink of destruction. Then, go inside the destruction of 11 American landmarks.