Archaeologists uncover mosaic of the Muse Calliope in the ancient city of Side.

Archaeologists working in the ancient city of Side in the Turkish province of Antalya have uncovered a mosaic of the Muse Calliope, according to the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The work was being carried out as part of a heritage project funded by the ministry, intended to restore the Monumental Fountains area of the city, which began in 2023.

A mosaic depicting the Muse Calliope uncovered during archaeological work at the city of Side in Antalya Province, Turkey. Hürriet Daily News.

The city of Side is thought to have been founded by Greek settlers in the seventh century BC, though it developed its own distinctive culture and language (which is yet to be deciphered). The city was taken over peacefully by Alexander the Great in 333 BC, and after his death remained in the control of the Ptolemaic Dynasty in Egytpt, until the beginning of the second century BC, when it was briefly taken over by the Second Seleucid Empire (itself a Hellenistic power founded by another of Alexander's Macedonian generals, Seleucus I Nicator). The city was liberated in 190 BC, when a joint fleet from the Greek city of Rhodes and the Roman Republic defeated a joint Carthaginian/Seleucid fleet led by the Carthaginian General Hannibal, effectively ending Seleucid influence in western Anatolia. The city remained independent until the first century, but was considered a haven for pirates by the Roman Republic, and was eventually brought under Roman control.

Calliope, the Muse of Epic Poetry, was a daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne (the goddess of memory), and was considered to be the chief of the Muses. She was married to Oeagrus, a legendary king of Thrace, and was the mother of Orpheous and Linus. She is reputed to have turned the daughters of King Pierus of Thessaly into Magpies after defeating then in a singing competition.

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Three confirmed deaths and two people missing after tornadoes and flash floods hit the Mediterranean coast of Anatolia.

Three people have been confirmed dead and two more are missing after a series of tornadoes and flood events in southwestern Anatolia, Turkey, on Friday 25 January 2019. The Kumluca and Finike districts of Antalya Province were hit by a series of tornadoes, that are known to have killed two people, schoolgirl Berivan Karakeçi, 13, and an as yet unnamed 40-year-old man described as a municipality employee, while student Busa Acar, 20, is also feared to have died after the car she was travelling was picked up and thrown into a river. On the Bodrum Peninsula in neighbouring Muğla Province teacher Billur Atik, 23, drowned after a car she was travelling in was caught in a flash flood, and her fiance, electrician Çağlar Bilecik, 27, is still missing, with little hope of being found alive. A further fifteen people were injured in storm related incidents across the region.

Turkish student Busa Acar, 20, who is feared to have died after her car was thrown into a river in Antalya Province on 25 January 2019. Hürriyet Daily News.

Tornadoes are formed by winds within large thunder storms called super cells. Supercells are large masses of warm water-laden air formed by hot weather over the sea, when they encounter winds at high altitudes the air within them begins to rotate. The air pressure will drop within these zones of rotation, causing the air within them so rise, sucking the air beneath them up into the storm, this creates a zone of rotating rising air that appears to extend downwards as it grows; when it hits the ground it is called a tornado. 

Damage caused by a tornado in Antalya Province on 25 January 2019. Hürriyet Daily News.

Like many dry areas, Anatolia, while generally experiencing low rainfall, is prone to occasional severe flooding. This stems from two causes; firstly the arid climate prevents the development of a thick soil layer which would be expected in less dry areas, so that in much of the area (non-porous) bedrock is either exposed or close to the surface, and secondly the hot climate leads to heavy evaporation from nearby seas and oceans, so that if the wind changes direction and brings water-laden air to the area, it brings a lot of precipitation with it. This combination of heavy rainfall and low ground absorbency leads to large amounts of water at the surface, typically moving downhill at some speed. Wadis, dry channels or ravines through which these sudden floods are channelled, can be particularly dangerous at these times, particularly as they often appear to resemble natural pathways or even camp sites to people unfamiliar with the climate.

 

 The car in which young Turkish couple Çağlar Bilecik, 27, and Billur Atik, 23, were caught in a flash flood on the Bodrum Peninsula on Friday 25 January 2019. Sputnik Türkiye.

 

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Magnitude 4.8 Earthquake in Antalya Province, Turkey.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.8 Earthquake at a depth of 29.8 km, about 15 km to the northeast of the town of Akseki in Antalya Province, Turkey, slightly before 8.15 pm local time (slightly before 5.15 pm GMT) on Friday 13 April 2018. No damage or injuries have been reported following this event, but people have reported feeling the event locally.

 

 The approximate location of the 13 April 2018 Akseki Province Earthquake. USGS.

 

Akseki Province lies on the boundary between the Anatolian Plate, to the north, the Aegean Sea Plate (underlying the Peloponnese, Attica, The Cyclades Islands, Crete, the Dodecanese Islands and Turkey to the southeast of the Taurus Mountains) to the west and the African Plate to the south. Northern Greece and the north coast of Turkey lie on the Eurasian Plate. Both countries are highly prone to earthquakes because of this.

To the east the Arabian Plate  is being pushed north and west by the movement of the African Plate, further to the south. This leads to a zone of tectonic activity within the province, as the Arabian and Anatolian plates are pushed together, along the East Anatolian Fault, and past one-another, along the Dead Sea Transform.

This movement also leads to a zone of faulting along the northern part of Turkey, the North Anatolian Fault Zone, as the Anatolian Plate is pushed past the Eurasian Plate, which underlies the Black Sea and Crimean Peninsula  (transform faulting). This is not a simple process, as the two plates constantly stick together, then break apart as the pressure builds up, leading to Earthquakes, which can be some distance from the actual fault zone. 

 

 Simplified map of the plate movements of the eastern Mediterranean. Univeriteit Utrecht.

Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events, and the structures that cause them. The international non-profit organisation Earthquake Report is interested in hearing from people who may have felt this event; if you felt this quake then you can report it to Earthquake Report here.

 

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