It appears that the ancient Aeolian city of Kyme will be partially (or entirely?) destroyed as the plans for a new commercial port that degrades its legal protection status as a historical site were

While focusing on such events individually is important, like most crimes against humanity's shared cultural heritage, there's also an ideological component; the Erdogan regime has successfully utilized the "progress" idea in its relentless pursuit to channel resources to its+

client base (as in clientelism) via construction projects, many of them without proven economic benefits. Anyone who dares to oppose such projects automatically becomes an enemy of progress, a remnant of the ancien regime. The success of the idea of progress, and in particular+

progress in this guise are neither new nor unique to the Erdogan regime. The Turkish Republic's ideological and material history is rich in the utilization of this idea, and I have personally witnessed its destructive tendencies in the name of progress as a kid in the 70s and 80s

The idea has been so successful because it combines the destruction of Turkey's ideologically "unacceptable" non-Turkish heritage with the idea that anything old must be replaced with the new for the benefit of the people. So the Erdogan regime is merely the latest flag bearer of