Any living organism that comes into contact with this polluted water dies or becomes ill. At present, one of the largest sites being currently mined is the area of Pergammon, which also happens to be the home to the six ancient theatre ruins. You might also be interested in knowing that a resolution was passed by the European Parliament in 1994 in which it condemns the Turkish government for permitting mining and other future projects which would exploit the Turkish people and their culture. As theatre scholars and teachers I suspect we are all concerned about the ecological impact of cyanide mining by Eurogold in Turkey but should be equally distressed by the potential loss of the irreplaceable ancient theatre sites in the area. I hope you might be concerned enough to write to the above address expressing your feelings about this situation.
Timing does seem to be a factor.
It would also be helpful if you could share this message with colleagues. Fortunately problem is not as upsetting as it is claimed. Such a gold mining process had nothing to do with the theater or the city of Pergamon, and most important of all with the rest of theater repertoire in Turkey. It is not right to generalize the problem that the city of Bergama faces today to all Greco-Roman theaters of Turkey. There are also legal organizations or government in Turkey such as the Directorate General of Ancient Monuments and Museum under the Ministry of Culture.