- Turkey on the World Heritage List
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Humanity has added new value to the places it has lived upon, and left behind masterpieces that carry Its culture to ensuing generations. To affirm the values accepted as the common heritage of all humanity, and to promote them and to transfer them to future generations, UNESCO adopted, "The Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage" in its General Conference held in Paris in 1972. Turkey ratified the Convention on 23 May 1982.
The World Heritage List Is a list of global sites of cultural and natural heritage considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. UNESCO, which alms to ensure International cooperation In protecting the values that form the common heritage of humanity, takes Into consideration unique values with respect to cultural and natural criteria.
At the end of 2008, there were 878 cultural and natural heritage sites from all around the world inscribed in the World Heritage List. These Include 679 cultural/archaeological sites, 174 natural sites and also 25 mixed (cultural/natural) sites.
Turkey has 9 properties Inscribed In the UNESCO World Heritage List, and 23 nominated properties are in the Tentative List. This publication is prepared by the Directorate General for Promotion of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. It aims to promote the sites Inscribed In the UNESCO World Heritage List, and raise awareness in transferring Turkey's cultural heritage to future generations.
TURKISH HERITAGE SITES ON THE WORLD HERITAGE LIST
(Source: whc.unesco.org)
Goreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia
Date of Inscription: 1985
Category: Cultural / Natural
Description: Found in a spectacular landscape, entirely sculpted by erosion, the Göreme valley and its surroundings contain rock-hewn sanctuaries that provide unique evidence of Byzantine art in the post-Iconoclastic period. Dwellings, troglodyte villages, underground towns, and the remains of a traditional human habitat dating back to the 4th century can also be seen there. This site contains superlative phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance, and is also an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, which is representative of a culture or human interaction with the environment.
Great Mosque and Hospital Divrigi
Date of Inscription: 1985
Category: Cultural / Natural
Description: This structure is outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history. The highly sophisticated technique of the vault construction, and a creative, exuberant type of decorative sculpture, particularly on the three doorways, in contrast to the unadorned walls of the interior, are the unique features of the Great Mosque, a masterpiece of Islamic architecture.
Historic Areas of Istanbul
Date of Inscription: 1985
Category: Cultural
Description: They represent a masterpiece of human creative genius, and exhibit an important interchange of human values over a span of time, or within a cultural area of the world. On top of this, they also exhibit developments in architecture, technology, monumental arts, town-planning and landscape design. With its strategic location on the Bosporus peninsula, between the Balkans and Anatolia, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, Istanbul has been associated with major political, religious and artistic events for more than 2,000 years.
Date of Inscription: 1986
Category: Cultural
Description: The archaeological site of Hattusha, former capital of the Hittite Empire, is notable for its urban organization. The types of structures that have been preserved include temples, royal residences, fortifications, the rich ornamentation of the Lions' Gate and the Royal Gate, and the ensemble of rock art at Yazilikaya.
Date of Inscription: 1987
Category: Cultural
Description: The mausoleum of Antiochus I (69-34 B.C.), who reigned over Commagene, a kingdom which was founded north of Syria and the Euphrates after the breakup of Alexander's empire, is one of the most ambitious constructions of the Hellenistic period. It bears a unique or at least exceptional testimonial to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which has disappeared, and is an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates a significant stage in human history.
Date of Inscription: 1988
Category: Cultural / Natural
Description: Deriving from springs in a cliff almost 200 m high overlooking the plain, calcite-laden waters have created at Pamukkale (Cotton Palace) an unreal landscape, made up of mineral forests, petrified waterfalls and a series of terraced basins. Pamukkale contains an unimaginable natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance.
Date of Inscription: 1988
Category: Cultural
Description: This site, which was the capital of Lycia, illustrates the blending of Lycian traditions and Hellenic influence, especially in its funerary art. It exhibits an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, through developments made in various sectors including architecture, technology, monumental arts, town-planning and landscape design.
Date of Inscription: 1994
Category: Cultural
Description: From the 13th century to the advent of the railway in the early 20th century, Safranbolu was an important caravan station on the main East-West trade route. During its zenith in the 17th century, Safranbolu's architecture influenced urban development throughout much of the Ottoman Empire.
Date of Inscription: 1998
Category: Cultural
Description: Troy, with its 4,000 years of history, is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. The archaeological site of Troy is of immense significance in the understanding of the development of European civilization at a critical stage in its early development. It is, moreover, of exceptional cultural importance because of the profound influence of Homer's Iliad on the creative arts over more than two millennia. That is why it can be to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance.
Properties submitted on the Tentative List
Ephesus (1994)
Karain Cave (1994)
Sümela Monastery (The Monastery of Virgin Mary) (2000)
Alahan Monastery (2000)
St. Nicholas Church (2000)
Harran and Sanliurfa (2000)
The Tombstones of Ahlat the Urartian and Ottoman citadel (2000)
The Citadel and the Walls of Diyarbakir (2000)
Seljuk Caravanserais on the route from Denizli to Dogubeyazit (2000)
Konya-A capital of Seljuk Civilization (2000)
Alanya (2000)
Mardin Cultural Landscape (2000)
Bursa and Cumalikizik Early Ottoman urban and rural settlements (2000)
Edirne Selimiye Mosque (2000)
St.Paul Church, St.Paul's Well and surrounding historic quarters (2000)
Ishak Pasha Palace (2000)
Kekova (2000)
Güllük Dagi-Termessos National Park (2000)
Archaeological Site of Aphrodisias (2009)
Ancient Cities of Lycian Civilization (2009)
Archaeological Site of Sagalassos (2009)
Neolithic Site of Catalhoyuk (2009)
Archaeological Site of Perge (2009)
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