IZMIR, Turkey
The ancient city of Ephesus in western Turkey was visited by around three quarters of a million tourists in the first six months of 2014, bringing in a revenue of over 4 million Turkish liras ($1.85 mn).
Although Ephesus kept its number one status in terms of number of tourists and revenue, the biggest increase was enjoyed by the acropolis of Pergamon (Bergama), which was included in UNESCO's World Heritage list in June, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
A major centre of learning in the ancient world, the acropolis of Pergamon in Izmir province received 109 thousand tourists in the first half of the year, raising the income of the museums in the historic site by up to 106%.
"Revenue from historic sites is used to improve and restore the sites themselves," Culture and Tourism Director of Izmir Abdulaziz Ediz told the Anadolu Agency, adding that the restoration of the Museum of Ephesus in the Selcuk town of Izmir, which has been going on for the past one and a half years, will be completed soon.
"Hopefully, Ephesus will make UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2015," Ediz said.
The Antique City of Ephesus was added to UNESCO's temporary list of world heritage in 2000.
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