GILA BENMAYOR (HÜRRİYET NEWSPAPER WRITER)
Hacı Bayram Bulgurlu, who was appointed as the Vice President of GAP Administration, said to the experts who brought Zeugma to the agenda: "Don't mention Zeugma to me. Bulgurlu's reaction to Zeugma was due to its Roman culture. It seems that GAP, which had a role in introducing the ancient city to the world and providing significant financial support for the excavations from the Packard Foundation, will withdraw from Zeugma due to this meaningless reaction of Bulgurlu. Although Ankara's lack of interest in Zeugma continues, the people of Gaziantep are determined this time. The interest in Zeugma, which took off like a storm two or three years ago, will be revived, and the museum housing the ruins of the ancient city and the excavations that need to start again will be protected. According to the information provided by Gaziantep Chamber of Industry President Nejat Koçer, an international Zeugma symposium will be held in Gaziantep next September. TOBB is the sponsor of the international symposium. However, there is a possibility that UNESCO will also contribute to the symposium. For this reason, Mayor Celal Doğan, who is the head of the newly established Zeugma Association, and Aykut Tuzcu, the owner of Sabah Newspaper, have rolled up their sleeves and are preparing to "lobby" at the meeting of the Association of Historical Cities in Bursa on May 30, which UNESCO will attend. By the way, it is worth mentioning: The meeting in Bursa is extremely important. European Historical Cities President Louis Roppe, European Council Cultural Affairs officer Vera Boltho, EU Turkey representative Hansjörg Kretschmer, Turkey's permanent representative to UNESCO Bozkurt Aran are some of the names that will attend the meeting. It is extremely important that the people of Antep will appear at this meeting to draw attention to Zeugma again. accurate. Meanwhile, ways to re-establish relations with the Packard Foundation were being sought. If an appointment is made with David Packard, the president of the foundation and the second generation owner of Hewlett-Packard, Celal Doğan and Aykut Tuzcu will be on their way to the USA. Gaziantep Governor Lütfullah Bilgin is another name who supports the Zeugma issue. About ten days ago, he discussed the project for a new museum with the General Director of Monuments and Museums, Alpay Pasinli. When I called Pasinli yesterday to discuss the developments, I learned that he had been appointed Deputy Undersecretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. I hope this will be more beneficial for the future of the Zeugma Museum and the excavations. It is a suitable position. Zeugma was talked about even in 1884. I don't even remember how many times I talked about ZEUGMA with Alpay Pasinli, Minister of State Kürşad Tüzmen, and former Minister of Tourism Güldal Akşit. Ankara cannot do anything for Zeugma, which once became the center of attention of the world. After the words of GAP Vice President Hacı Bayram Bulgurlu, my hope faded. However, Zeugma's name was even mentioned in a book written in 1884. The name of the book adapted to today's language by Cahit Kayra is ''A Journey with Kelek on the Tigris.'' Its author is Ali Bey, the inspector of the Düyun-u Umumiye. He set out from Istanbul, visited the cities of Southeastern Anatolia and from there went to Baghdad. Ali Bey, who traveled on the Tigris with a kelek, a kind of raft, was very impressed by the ruins of Zeugma and explained that the courtyards of the houses in Birecik were paved with mosaics unearthed from the ruins.
