Gladiatorial Re-enactment in Antalya, Turkey

[Medusa Gladiatrix]

Salvete Omnes,

Seems like there will be a new tourist attraction in the Antalya region:

Gladiators will fight for tourism in Antalya
Category: MagazineAdd Time: Haz 1st, 2010Author: admin
Aspendos Gladiator School will be established at Serik, Antalya, where gladiators will be trained to fight at the arena as in the Roman period.
The Aspendos Gladiator School is located on a land close to the Aspendos Antique Theatre and is planned to be opened by the end of May, where the trainees will be performing fights of the Roman gladiators as well as participate in chariot races on the area of 300 metres.
For this purpose, hand-made outfits have been prepared and tiered seats are built in Roman architectural design for 800 spectators . There will also be a Roman market within the area.
Ali Akay, the Director of the Aspendos Gladiator School, explained that the construction was in progress and that they intended to portray the events in the arena where gladiators fought in the Roman period.
Akay also stated that the tools and the clothes used in the performances would be reminiscent of the Roman period and the spectators will also be presented with the outfits of those times to create the essential atmosphere.
Akay said that the gladiators to take part in the performances will start their training on horseback in the forthcoming days, adding:
“There are 16 horses at school. So far approximately 300 thousand TL have been spent. We are continuing our interviews with the candidate gladiators. They must have well developed bodies; therefore we think the best performers would be the wrestlers. We have started negotiating with the wrestlers at Serik. The interviews are still going on.”
Akay further pointed out that there would be various games during the display where a total of 40 people will be employed and remarked as follows: “With our display we shall be reviving the tradition of gladiators in Anatolia in a sense. Needless to say, we are doing this for commercial purposes but we are initially motivated by our love and interest in history.”

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