Local authorities in Demre, a town in Turkey's southern Antalya district that is known as the birthplace of St. Nicholas, or Santa Claus, have launched a new search to find the remains of the Christian saint after having discovered a new grave site attributed to him.
Although the remains of St. Nicholas are believed to have been smuggled to the Italian city of Bari by Italian merchants in the year 1087, archaeologists now have reason to believe that the remains may life in the newly discovered grave site located inside the Santa Claus Museum, formerly an ancient church with a sarcophagus attributed to the Christmas saint. The head of Antalya's Monument Authority Cemil Karabayram told Doğan News Agency that it is not clear if the remains that were smuggled to Bari were truly those of St. Nicholas, adding that officials hope to conclude their search to find his original remains, if they are in Demre, by the end of the year.
