As of May 2024, we are nearing the end of the spring semester of the 2023-24 academic year. During this period, we brought seven speakers to AKMED for monthly conferences, and after each conference, discussions related to the conference topic were continued in the garden, providing the audience with an opportunity to get to know the guest speaker more closely. The conferences that took place were on the archaeological excavations at  Side, Kibyra, Arykanda, Magnesia and Ephesos, as well as an interesting presentation titled “Ceremonies and Protocols at Topkapı Palace” By Prof. Dr. Zeynep Tarım from Istanbul University. For the final conference of the academic year, in the last week of May, Dr. Feray Coşkun from Özyeğin University will be our guest speaker with the presentation “Wonders and Oddities in Ottoman Cosmographies”

This academic year, we organized two international events. In late November, as part of the 2nd Suna & İnan Kıraç Symposium, we held a symposium titled “Shopping and Weighing Instruments in the Mediterranean World and Beyond throughout History,” where 23 scholars from six countries contributed with papers focusing on shopping practices in the Mediterranean region. The proceedings of the symposium are expected to be published in the first months of 2025. On the final day of the symposium, a trip to Perge and Aspendos was organized.

In early April, the “Third International Congress on the History of Money and Numismatics in the Mediterranean World” took place, with over 40 researchers from both domestic and international institutions participating. The proceedings of this event will also be published in early 2025.

Another significant event organized by AKMED is the Summer Schools. The “History of Money and Numismatics Summer School” and the “History and Archaeology of Antalya Certificate Program” have been running for seven years. However, this academic year, we initiated a new summer school program aimed at giving archaeology students hands-on experience in archaeological excavations. The first Archaeology Summer School was held in September in Perge, and the second will take place in August this year in Ephesus. We plan to continue the Archaeology Summer School program in different archaeological sites in the coming years.

The 2023-24 Academic Year was also very productive in terms of publications. First, Nilay Çorağan’s book The Wall Paintings of the Church of St. Nicholas in Demre was published. In late May and June, two more books will be published. One is New Research in the Epigraphy in Lycia edited by F. Onur and C. Schuler, and the other is A Polichnion in Lycia Kekova Island Research Results, by E. Aslan, Y. Kılıç, U. Orhan, and U. Erdoğan. Additionally, our annual journals Adalya and Anmed were also released in the early months of the academic year.

As always, numerous applications were received for Master’s, Ph.D., and Project scholarships and support, and the results will be announced in June.

Wishing you a beautiful and peaceful summer season!