which they took from Mount Ida, Crete. Iron age In historical times, Xerxes' march took him past Mount Ida (Herodotus VII:42). 2019 Controversy In July 2019, protesters made accusations against Canadian company Alamos Gold for constructing a mine in Mount Ida, despite the fact that the mine was located 40 km away from Mount Ida, within the borders of the Biga Mountains and in the skirts of Balaban Hill. The Republic of Turkey prohibits mining in National Parks, Natural Preserves, Archeological Sites and Wildlife Protection Areas. Protesters criticized that thousands of trees were cleared as well as plans to use cyanide to extract gold. The Turkish government and company responded with claims that the mine would not damage the environment. Protesters began a "Water and Conscience Watch" on July 26. A "Great Water and Conscience Meeting" was then held on August 5, during which protesters entered the mining site and symbolically planted trees in front of the press. Local residents near the village of Kirazlı criticized the protesters who came to the region with misinformation. Images of the land which had been cleared of trees also caused outrage on social media. Artist Zülfü Livaneli wrote an open letter to UNESCO protesting about the destruction of the natural environment in the area. In 2021, the mining company filed an investment treaty claim exceeding $1 billion against Turkey for "unfair and inequitable treatment". See also Mount Ida Idaea Notes References Martyn Rix, "Wild About Ida: the glorious flora of Kaz Dagi and the Vale of Troy", Cornucopia 26, 2002. Çoban, Ramazan Volkan. İda Dağı'ndan Kaz Dağına; Yöre Anlatılarının Karşılaştırmalı Mitoloji Tarafından İncelenmesi, III. Ulusal Kazdağları Sempozyumu (Balıkesir, 2012) External links Çoban, Ramazan Volkan. İda Dağı'ndan Kaz Dağına; Yöre Anlatılarının Karşılaştırmalı Mitoloji Tarafından İncelenmesi, III. Ulusal Kazdağları Sempozyumu (Balıkesir, 2012) Kaz Dağı: The magic mountain, article by Recep Peker Tanıtkan in Diplomat magazine, Ankara, May, 2006. Morphological, Anatomical and Ecological studies on the two Turkish endemic species collected from Kaz Dağı (B1 Balıkesir) “Allium sibthorpianum Schultes & Schultes fil. and Allium reuterianum Boiss.”, article by İsmet Uysal in the Turkish Journal of Journal of Botany, 23 (1999), 137–148. A Contribution to the Moss Flora of Western Turkey: Moss Flora of the Kaz Mountain (Balıkesir, Turkey), article by Adnan Erdag and Ahmet Yayıntaş in the Turkish Journal of Botany, 23 (1999), 117–125. İda's researching in Comparative Mythology, İda's researching in Comparative Mythology. Ida Geography