İznik Lake Basilica

About

İznik Lake Basilica is the submerged ruin of a basilica in Lake İznik, in the İznik district of Bursa. The remains were spotted in early 2014 during aerial photography carried out by Bursa Metropolitan Municipality to document cultural heritage, and the site was then seen as a whole from the air for the first time. In general, the building follows the plan of an Early Christian basilica. Underwater surveys recorded rubble from its collapse both inside and around the structure. A surface survey took place in summer 2015, and underwater excavations started in November of the same year; the work was later continued under the direction of Uludağ University's Department of Archaeology. A visitor centre built by the Ministry's directorate general for cultural heritage and museums was completed in May 2025, with a museum, a cafeteria, a shop and a walkway platform. The site museum opened to visitors on 28 October 2025.