Locals Rally Against Construction in Cappadocia

After the constructions were suspended on Tuesday, Architects Chamber of Turkey dispatched a team to Nevsehir province for the investigation of the case. "We will also file a suitcase for the cancellation of Arinna Hotel's construction license."

Previously, local NGOs and residents protested other commercial construction efforts in Cappadocia, a Central Anatolian historical region added into UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1985.

"We are collecting signatures for a campaign to push officials to cancel the hotel constructions and investigate why the constructions were allowed in the first place," local NGOs said.

The construction of Arinna Lodge Hotel in Uçhisar Fortress--region's highest location--was temporarily suspended by an appeal from Culture and Turism Ministry, which was followed by a second construction suspension of CRR Hotels in the same location.

The latest constructions had caused severe criticism by locals who were struggling against the concretization of the region for the past five years. Last week, hundreds of people gathered on the steps of the City Culture and Nature Preservation Hall for the suspension of two hotel constructions.

The council chair Mevlüt Coşkun declined to comment on the issue, saying that he was restricted to talk to press by bureaucratic regulations.

A local architect who undisclosed his name told bianet that the preservation council allowed several other construction projects spoiling region's silhouette.

"When it comes to ordinary locals, the council does not even allow to do a tiny renovation in the house, but big investors are free to do whatever they want. Some locals were sentenced to prison due to land invasion, but hotels can freely erect towers all over the region."

The architect said Arinna Hotel was constructed within a preservation site. "There used to be a historical town house in the site. Now you can't see it at all, because the hotel casts a long shadow on the region. We will contact UNESCO officials to send a team to investigate the case here." (NV)