A rock shelter with paintings dating to the 5th millennium BCE has been discovered 2 kilometres northwest of the 3,500-year-old city of Alinda, about 500 kilometres south-southwest of Istanbul and 50 kilometres from the Aegean Sea.
     The rock shelter was found during a surface survey, and officials encountered wall paintings resembling human figures inside. While four of the paintings are believed to feature female figures, two feature male figures. Found in an area known as Bitişik Tepe, the paintings are older than the ancient city, which dates to 1,400 BCE. The human figures were made with a plant-derived dye, and date to the Neolithic and Chalcolithic period.
     Alinda has a three-storey plan and a large plaza. The province of Aydin is Anatolia's biggest producer of dried figs, also exporting olives, chestnuts, fruits, and cotton.

Edited from Hurriyet Daily News (20 December 2021)