In the district of Eskipazar in Karabük, the glass terrace built over the Roman bath at the ancient city of Hadrianopolis provides visitors a unique viewing experience where nature and history converge.
Ongoing excavation and restoration efforts, led by associate professor Ersin Çelikbaş from the Department of Archaeology at Karabük University's Faculty of Literature, continue at the ancient city, which was used as a settlement during the late Chalcolithic, Roman and early Byzantine periods.
As part of these efforts, the construction of the glass terrace, completed this month above the tepidarium (warm bathroom) section of the Roman bath, has made the historical structure visible.
The glass terrace, which offers a bird's-eye view of the Roman bath, has garnered significant attention from local and foreign visitors.
"We are very pleased with the visitor interest," Çelikbaş said, expressing his plans to establish a new exhibition area in the ancient city with his team every year.
Çelikbaş also pointed out that the enclosed spaces in many ancient cities often complicated restoration and exhibition projects. He explained: "We were also uncomfortable with the density of metal in these closed spaces. We wanted to lighten the appearance and thought of making the view more aesthetic with glass. (The Roman bath) is indeed a large structure, covering an area of 1,000 square meters. We thought that if we turned the entire structure into an enclosed space, it would be quite suffocating, so we decided to cover only a portion of it with glass, specifically the area above the mosaic, and open it to our visitors."
Çelikbaş further explained that they left the surroundings of the glass terrace open to ensure air circulation and prevent the growth of vegetation inside. "Visitors can see the mosaics of the structure from above at a 90-degree angle and also walk into the structure through the wooden walkways we prepared on the side. We wanted people to be able to explore the sections inside the bath by looking at the ground and touching the surfaces, except for the mosaic area. If we distance visitors from these areas, we actually think that we are distancing them from the feeling of that era," he said.
Çelikbaş noted that they have not yet completed all of the visitor points in Hadrianopolis, explaining that they have finished the exhibition of three structures, namely the Roman villa, the Roman bath and the remains of a church.
