BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Restoration Completed on the World’s Oldest Major Parliament

Bible and archaeology news

After the largest archaeological restoration project in Turkish history, taking over two years and costing 7.5 million Turkish liras to complete, the Lycian League Parliament building in Patara has regained the glory of its history. The democratic parliament hosted representatives from every city of the Lycian League,* a large confederation in southern Anatolia that defined many aspects of the Classical, Hellenistic and Roman eras. Patara is remembered not only as a political center cited by Enlightenment thinkers as an ancient model for modern democracies, but also as an important site for early Christianity. In the New Testament, Paul and Luke change ships in Patara’s port, and the early Christianized city was the birthplace of St. Nicholas. The parliament’s restoration, carried out under the guidance of Antalya University’s archaeology department, repaired the structure’s 130-foot-long walls, gates, and stone benches, which once seated the democratically elected representatives of the ancient league.

After the largest archaeological restoration project in Turkish history, taking over two years and costing 7.5 million Turkish liras to complete, the Lycian League Parliament building in Patara has regained the glory of its history.

* For more information on the Lycian League, see “Destinations: Myra, Turkey,”, Archaeology Odyssey, Summer 1998.