As Prof. Dr. Faruk Çalapkulu, Chairman of Executive Committee of the International Stone Congress, stated, the world mining history reveals that the metalworking was first developed in the Middle East geography. He also said that there are findings showing how the underground natural stone enterprise started for the first time in Bazda in the Harran District of Şanlıurfa. Çalapkulu also said that they aim to make Bazda a touristic destination via making it an agenda in the seventh International Stone Congress.
A delegation led by Prof. Dr. Faruk Çalapkulu and consisting of the Head of Chamber of Geological Engineers İzmir Branch, Bora Sonuvar, Prof. Dr. Sacit Ozer, Prof. Dr. Seyfi Kulaksız, member of the Geological Heritage Committee Prof. Dr. Hülya Inaner, Assoc. Dr. Architect Nimet Öztank, Dr. Ramazan Hacımustafaoğlu, Member of the Audit Board of the Aegean Mineral Exporters' Association Burak Alimoğlu, Deputy Secretary General of the Aegean Exporters' Association Çiğdem Önsal and Aegean Exporters' Association Press Counselor and Head of the İzmir Branch of the Economy Correspondents Murat Demircan, made examinations in Şanlıurfa Bazda.
As Çalapkulu said, Prof. Dr. Seyfi Kulaksız and his friends manifested in 2004 that this place, which was known as Bazda caves colloquially, was actually the underground natural stone enterprise. Çalapkulu continued as follows: “These findings are a milestone in terms of underground enterprise. Our efforts to put Bazda in the world mining agenda started at the 6th International Stone Congress, which was held simultaneously with MARBLE IZMIR between 25-27 August 2021. We held a special session for Bazda. The comparison of the underground operation, which was made with the room and pillar mining system in Bazda village of Harran district in Şanlıurfa 6,500 years ago, with the ongoing underground operation in Carrara, Italy, was very surprising for the congress participants. In addition, in this session, Michel Comte and M. Arhan Kayar gave information about the investment project for Bazda underground enterprises”.
Çalapkulu, sharing the information that there are findings that the stones mined from Bazda underground enterprise were used in many buildings in Mesopotamia, continued his words as follows:
“Göbeklitepe has created a milestone in the history of humanity with the descriptions it conveyed to the present day about the extraction of the stone, its use in buildings and the engravings on it. We took samples from Bazda. We will reveal the history of Bazda. Şanlıurfa Governor Abdullah Erin and Harran District Governor Cihat Koç showed great interest in our works. As the Congress executive committee, we fully agree with the statement of. Mr. Koç who said: "Harran's past will create its future." If we can attract attention to Göbeklitepe with the underground enterprise in Bazda, the history of the underground natural stone operation of Bazda will be carried back 16,000 years from today. Together with this, we believe that a new page will be opened in the eye of world public opinion about the cultural and technological history of Homosapiens.”
Prof. Dr. Faruk Çalapkulu, explaining that the 7th International Stone Congress will be held on the 100th anniversary of Turkish Republic, said:
“As result of preliminary investigations, we will share the informations and results regarding our work with Şanlıurfa Governor Abdullah Erin, Harran District Governor Cihat Koç, Local Administrations, Provincial Tourism and Culture Directorate and Harran and Göbeklitepe Excavations.
Furthermore, within the scope of the 6th International Stone Congress and MINEX fair, 793 people experienced the virtual reality of the world’s first known stone cutting machine (gang saw) which had operated in Ephesus and Laodicea 2000 years ago. We want to draw the attention of the whole world to the Southeast Anatolian geography, which is the starting point of humanity's faith, agriculture and mining, by developing a similar software for underground enterprises. We also aim to gather them with the Mesopotamian stonemasons in the Bazda underground enterprise make them travel in time through virtual reality environment.”
