They spray-painted the 2,000-year-old historic walls: Images from Bursa spark outrage...

Byzantine, Roman, Ottoman, and Seljuk—the historic walls in the İznik district of Bursa, which served as a capital to four civilizations, have once again been defaced with spray paint. In the world-famous historic district, graffiti spray-painted by unidentified person or persons onto the 2,000-year-old walls has created an unsightly scene, drawing the ire of local residents.

Ali Karaman, who works in the tourism industry, said, “We are faced with a sad sight. In İznik, which has been a capital to four civilizations, graffiti was spray-painted on the walls of a gate opening to the lake, and our historic stones were damaged by paint. Such scenes have occurred in past years as well. So far, those responsible have not been punished. We see that domestic and foreign tourists visiting from outside are not pleased with such sights. As tourism professionals, we are also very saddened. İznik is an important, historic place. These areas need to be placed under protection. Measures should be taken by installing cameras. People come to İznik for its history. The walls are spread over a wide area. We do not want to encounter such scenes. Those who do this should not attempt such things. They should not ruin the works left to us by our ancestors with spray paint,” he said.

Here are those images...

They spray-painted the 2,000-year-old historic walls: Images from Bursa spark outrage... https://t.co/uPOtsI7cBs pic.twitter.com/nWF71KOMys

— 12punto (@12puntocomtr) June 21, 2024

News Source: İHA