Ancient ban takes hold
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism continues to penalise artists who have protested against the arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu. The ministry has found a solution for the embargo by cancelling all concerts in ancient theatres.
In Turkey, summer concerts have been held in ancient city theatres for a long time. There are criticisms that these concerts damage the ancient ruins. However, these concerts are highly regarded in the music world. This is because concerts held in these ancient venues with thousands of years of history carry a high prestige. The Ephesus Ancient City Theatre in Selçuk, Izmir, the Aspendos Ancient Theatre in Antalya, and the Bodrum Ancient Theatre are among the most prominent venues for these concerts.
In recent years, artists such as Cem Adrian, Yalın, and Melike Şahin have performed at summer concerts in ancient theatres. Concerts by many musicians have been organised.
It was noteworthy that, despite the 2025 summer concerts in ancient cities being just around the corner, not all announcements had been made yet.
Only the following concerts have been announced for the Ephesus Ancient Theatre: Gökhan Türkmen (28 July 2025), Levent Yüksel (26 July 2025), Yıldız Tilbe (27 July 2025), Aşkın Nur Yengi (29 July 2025), and Candan Erçetin (30 July 2025).
The schedule for concerts to be held at the Aspendos Ancient Theatre in 2025 has not been announced.
Upon further investigation, we revealed a scandalous decision. The organising companies had applied to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in May to hold concerts at the Ephesus Ancient Theatre. Among the names listed in the application for the concerts scheduled for July were Yalın, Hadise, Mabel Matiz, Melek Mosso, Sertab Erener, Melike Şahin, and Cem Adrian.
THEY GAVE THEIR PERMISSION
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism responded positively to these applications in written form. However, after this permission was granted, officials from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism contacted the organisers and told them that these artists could not perform in ancient theatres and that they should find other names to replace them. The concerts of these artists, whose tickets sold out in a day and were followed by millions of fans, were effectively blocked from taking place in ancient city theatres. The stars themselves were not even informed of this decision. This is because the organisation companies approached the artists with offers after submitting their applications and receiving approval.
THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE BLACKLISTED THEM
According to allegations, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism blacklisted these names in response to their reactions to the revocation of Ekrem İmamoğlu's diploma, his arrest, and the imprisonment of students who protested the coup attempt.
Yalın voted in the solidarity ballot boxes set up by the CHP to determine its candidate for the presidency after the coup attempt on 19 March and shared this photo with the caption, ‘Sovereignty belongs to the people, unconditionally.’
When Yalın did not hear back about his concert application for the Ephesus Ancient Theatre months later, he made a meaningful post on his Instagram account.
Sharing a photo of the concert stage at the Ephesus Ancient Theatre, Yalın wrote:
‘The Ephesus concerts are starting... I am receiving many messages from you... You are asking if “A Magical Night” will take place this summer... I am eagerly awaiting the good news. It is my greatest dream to be able to return to that stage that I love so much.’
Yalın tagged the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in his post.
CEM ADRIAN ALSO ON THE LIST
Cem Adrian, Melike Şahin, Sertab Erener, Hadise, Mabel Matiz, and Melek Mosso, whose names were crossed off by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, had also protested the arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu and the students.
This news has not been denied, but no statement has been made. The music world has been waiting for days.
The organisers experienced another shock the previous day. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism informed the organisers that all summer concerts at ancient theatres had been cancelled. The reason given was that the Nature Conservation Board had not granted permission. In some ancient cities, restoration work was cited as the reason.
The organizing companies requested a written statement from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism regarding the refund process for sold tickets. However, this statement has not yet been sent. The organizers had paid millions of lira to rent these ancient theatres. It was stated that these rental fees would be refunded.
As a result, the backlash from artists over the arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu escalated into a scandal involving the cancellation of summer concerts.
All concerts that have been announced, advertised, and had tickets on sale for weeks have been cancelled. These concerts include:
• Ephesus Ancient Theatre - Gökhan Türkmen.
• Ephesus Ancient Theatre - Yıldız Tilbe.
• Ephesus Ancient Theatre - Candan Erçetin.
• Bodrum Ancient Theatre - Sefo.
• Bodrum Ancient Theatre - Ata Demirer
• Bodrum Ancient Theatre - Does Love End?
• Bodrum Ancient Theatre - Gipsy Kings.
• Bodrum Ancient Theatre - Yıldız Tilbe.
• Bodrum Ancient Theatre - Gökhan Türkmen.
• Bodrum Ancient Theatre - Mert Demir.
• Bodrum Ancient Theatre - Kaynat Bakalım.
• Bodrum Ancient Theatre - Aşkın Nur Yengi.
• Bodrum Ancient Theatre - Göksel.
• Bodrum Ancient Theatre - Funda Arar.
• Bodrum Ancient Theatre - Hande Yener.
• Bodrum Ancient Theatre - Selda Bağcan
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled "Antik yasak her yeri sardı" published in BirGün newspaper on June 20, 2025.
