Performative Art in Lycia
In July several artists who will participate in workshops and performances on the Via Eurasia visited Turkey. The two coordinators of the Performative Journey project, Hüseyin (CRS) and Serra (Mitöst) organised a trip for them to see possible performance sites and met local people who could participate in the event. The actual performance will be held in the Lycian Civilisations Museum at Demre at the end of September – we will announce details in the next newsletter.
The team of 3 artists, two film-makers and a sound recorder, concentrated on the museum location. Here an historical advisor gave an in-depth introduction to the Lycian civilisation and history of the area so that the artist team had an idea about this first chosen location that is a potential spot for the workshops. The team had a tour at the museum as well as the archaeological site of Andriake, and visited ancient ruins from different periods including an old harbour, several religious buildings such as churches and a synagogue, etc. Then the tour continued in the agora of the site where there is also a large cistern and murex workshops. Finally, following a quick tour inside the actual museum building (a 2nd C. Granarium from the emperor Hadrian’s time) the team had a silent evaluation moment before leaving the site and heading towards other historical highlights of the region.
Myra, which was an important Lycian League city, was the second stop on the first day of the trip. Here the team made an exclusive tour guided by the historical advisor and an archaeologist working at the site; Myra ancient theatre has proved to be a possible venue for the performance event.
The team also looked at a second possible workshop location option at Belören village, which offer a different historical and geographical context compared to Andriake. The historical advisor continued guiding the team in this region, leading them up a short climb through Lycian sarcophagi and other remains to a great view point where some more ruins from Hellenistic-Byzantine periods are scattered around. 
During their visit, the team had dinner with local people at Kapaklı village, where the villagers have recently started to provide accommodation, food and transport services for tourists, trekkers on the Lycian Way in particular. After dinner, the local people from the village gathered to hear about the planned workshop and performance events. Some locals explained local stories and legends, and were excited by the prospect of participating in September. Other participants from the archaeological team and artists from Antalya will help make this an entertaining event.
All the activities were recorded by the sound engineer and the film crew, because the project will also result in a film and audio materials. The visit ended with a final tour of the museum in order to record practical details for the workshops.
