Yapı Kredi

Sponsoring the excavations at the goddess Aphrodite’s city Aphrodisias, Yapı Kredi Private Banking has long supported the studies carried out by the Geyre Foundation to uncover this ancient city famous for its sculpture to the culture and arts agenda and hand it down to the next generations.

The support provided by Yapı Kredi for the ancient city of Aphrodisias and for its promotion started to increase during the fourth quarter of 2007. Under the project named “Carry Your Name to the Future with an Ancient Relief”, a special auction was held on January 17, 2008, at the Rahmi Koç Museum in support of the New Sebasteion Hall where 80 original reliefs found in Aphrodisias will be exhibited. Some 11 reliefs sold at the auction organized with the assistance of Yapı Kredi Private Banking have been immortalized together with the names of the supporters. The proceeds from this event were used for the construction of the New Sebasteion Hall which opened in May.

Furthermore, Yapı Kredi selected Aphrodisias as the theme for all its promotional materials (organizer, calendar, etc.) prepared for 2008 and used it as a media for its annual marketing activities.

The new exhibition hall at Aphrodisias was dedicated in the 20th year of the Geyre Foundation. The construction of the 770 m2 New Sebasteion Reliefs – Sevgi Gönül Hall started in March 2007 as an addition to the current Aphrodisias Museum in Karacasu, Aydın. Supported by the Geyre Foundation and Yapı Kredi Private Banking, the hall was opened on May 31, 2008. Designed by architect Cengiz Bektaş with a sensitive approach avoiding any damage to the ancient city of Aphrodisias, the New Sebasteion Reliefs and the 80 reliefs recovered from the excavations are displayed true to the originals in the Sevgi Gönül Hall.

These unique works of art created by the most prestigious sculptors of the era have also been collected together for an extensive exhibition organized by Yapı Kredi Culture & Art in Istanbul. The Yapı Kredi Vedat Nedim Tör Museum is the host of this exhibition entitled “Roman Portraits from Aphrodisias.” A total of 52 magnificent pieces – 51 from the Aphrodisias Museum and 1 from the Istanbul Archaeology Museum - are displayed at the exhibition. The promotional activities carried out during the exhibition have contributed to the public’s awareness of the ancient city of Aphrodisias. The exhibition is open for all art lovers from September 26, 2008 to January 25, 2009.

Aphrodisias

The ancient city of Aphrodisias is one of the most important archaeological sites from the Greek and Roman periods. Situated in the Menderes Valley in the Aegean Region and within the borders of the municipality of Geyre, Karacasu, Aydın, the city is located on an site comprising 520 hectares.

According to findings, the first settlement in Aphrodisias was during the Calcholithic age (6000 – 3500 BC). Aphrodisias was a capital city of the Roman Empire for a century beginning from the 3rd century AD. Maintaining its attractiveness and spirit until the 7th century, Aphrodisias started to change hands with the arrival of the Seljuk and Ottoman Turks during the 11th and 12th centuries and gradually lost its significance and eventually returned to a village again. Although the cradle of many landmark events for centuries, the city was completely evacuated in the 14th century.

Aphrodisias is a centre of countless invaluable relics. Many unparalleled works of art are still buried under the soil where the excavations bringing only a quarter of this treasure to light was carried out.

Acknowledged as one of the most significant archaeological sites dating to the Greek and Roman periods, the ancient city of Aphrodisias is being brought to light under the sponsorship of the Geyre Foundation, founded in 1987. Thanks to the excavations and analyses meticulously conducted by New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts since 1961, this historic cultural asset will be passed on to the next generations.

Since the start of the excavations in the region, recovering, restoring, conserving, protecting and analysing the relics of Aphrodisias have been among the major functions of the Geyre Foundation.