In Turkey, the ruins of an ancient city are for sale

Ankara - Those who love the Turkish coast, ancient buildings, and can spend two hundred million crowns might be interested in the unusual offer from a Turkish real estate agency. The ruins of the ancient city of Bargylia, located on the Aegean coast of Turkey, are for sale. A potential buyer of the site advertised as a holiday residence must keep in mind one restriction: no construction is allowed here, reported the BBC news website.
    The ad offers a "premium archaeological site" with a sea view and a nearby lake. The asking price is set at 22 million Turkish lira (about 230 million crowns). The plot covers an area of 33 hectares and contains a number of historically invaluable remains: an amphitheater from several centuries B.C., a similarly ancient temple, or a necropolis from the Byzantine era. However, most of the most valuable remains are located below the ground level and are the work of archaeologists.
    According to ancient legend, the city was built in honor of the hero Bargyl, who was killed by the winged horse Pegasus. During the Cretan War at the turn of the third and second centuries B.C., according to some historical sources, the army of King Philip V of Macedon sought refuge here.
    According to Turkish media, this is not the first offer to sell a valuable site into private hands. The state does not intend to spend money on the purchase and maintenance of places like Bargylia, which archaeologists criticize. "Private ownership of these sites is an obstacle to archaeological work," stated Binnut Celebi, a representative of the association of archaeologists, according to the news website BirGün.net. Moreover, there are known cases where a construction ban is not an insurmountable problem for buyers of the site, the website pointed out.