35th UNESCO Committee Meeting (original) (raw)

Alarm Bells Ring for the Cultural Heritage of Istanbul

Sustainable Development and Planning X, 2018

With a history that goes back 8500 years, Istanbul is located on top of the Bosphorus-a unique geographical beauty of the world that has hosted Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Empires for decades as a bridge between European and Asian continents. These unique privileges of the geography almost witness the history, with the identity that it steals from the history itself. Ancient Istanbul, known as the "Historical Peninsula", was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985. The most important prerequisite for being included in the list is to document the "outstanding universal value" of the entity. Istanbul meets four of the required criteria for being included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Unfortunately, the Historical Peninsula, as the precious core of Istanbul, is not properly "protected" based on scientific measures, although it does actually constitute an urban, historical and archaeological protected area. It possesses four World Heritage Areas inside its border, and there are Conservation Master Plans and Management Plans set in place for the area. Here, the mega-projects, investment decisions and applications that are being developed-ironically, with different plan decisions-are incompatible with the current protection policies and plan decisions most of the time. Consequently, this process threatens the World Heritage Sites in Istanbul today. This study elaborates upon the projects that are being conducted in the Historical Peninsula as a whole, looks in detail at the risks that they bring to the area, and demonstrates the dangers that the area is facing as a result of the Conservation Master Plans and Management Plan Decisions.

World Heritage Sites in Turkey Current Status and Problems of Conservation and Management

Co, 2010

Turkey, being signatory of the World Heritage Convention since 1983 has nine natural and cultural World Heritage sites inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List. Out of these, seven heritage sites have cultural while two have both natural and cultural mix features. The World Heritage in Turkey is facing several problems due to poor management and current land use issues like almost of the developing countries. Most problems of these sites are local or based on specific issues while few are in common at all places. In order to ensure effective management and protection of these sites in Turkey, there is a strong need to formulate new management strategies and policies, after determining and analyzing the current status and related issues in these areas. Öz: Türkiye Dünya Mirası Konvansiyonu'nu imzaladığı 1983 yılından beri doğal ve kültürel özellikteki dokuz alan UNESCO Dünya Mirası Listesinde yer almaktadır. Bunlardan yedi miras alanı kültürel özellikte iken iki tanesi ise doğal+kültürel özellikte (mix type)dir. Hemen bütün gelişmekte olan ülkelerde olduğu gibi Türkiye'deki Dünya Mirası da çeşitli yönetim ve güncel arazi kullanımlarından kaynaklanan sorunlarla karşı karşıyadır. Bu sorunların bir bölümü tüm Dünya Mirası Alanlarında ortak olmakla birlikte her miras alanının kendine özgü sorunları da mevcuttur. Türkiye'deki Dünya Mirasının korunması ve etkin yönetiminin sağlanması için öncelikle bu alanlardaki mevcut durum ve sorunların saptanması, elde edilen bu güncel verilere dayalı olarak yeni yönetim stratejisi ve politikalarının belirlenmesi zorunludur. Bu amaçla 2007-08 yıllarında yürütülen "Türkiye'deki Dünya Mirası Alanlarının Güncel Durumlarının Saptanması" konulu proje kapsamında Türkiye'deki dokuz Dünya Mirasının güncel durumları, belirli bir format uyarınca sorgulanmış, bu alanların mevcut durumu ve sorunları saptanmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda elde edilen bulgular Türkiye'deki Dünya Mirasının korunması ve etkin yönetimi için geliştirilecek politika ve stratejilere temel oluşturacaktır.

Culture Heritage Management; Istanbul Historic Peninsula Reviews and Suggestions

ПЕРСПЕКТИВА – 2020; МАТЕРИАЛЫ МЕЖДУНАРОДНОЙ НАУЧНОЙ КОНФЕРЕНЦИИ СТУДЕНТОВ, АСПИРАНТОВ И МОЛОДЫХ УЧЁНЫХ, 2020

Cultural heritages are assets which have traces of not only the past but also of region existing, and these assets must be handed from generation to generation. They reflect background of the existing society and live and develop with those people. In order to provide this transfer appropriately, the strategies which are proper to the principles and norms of sustainability must be applied. In conjuction with globalization which is ac343 companied with modernization, regions with cultural heritage have started to become economy and attraction centers. Historical textures and regions which are located in city center are situated on the places which economic activities are live and are under the pressure of usage. For this reason, these regions must be protected and functioned in most correct way. Not only human activity but also global warming which must be examined for the past, present and future effects must be considered in the framework of protection of cultural heritage. In order to provide sustainability of cultural heritage management and to transfer the historical textures and artifacts to next generations by not avoiding to use, «Area Management» mechanism is situated in our agenda with its legislative and administrative dimensions. Within the World Heritage List, the criterias of UNESCO Operational Guidelines, in the related World heritage areas which are located in different geographies are examined on local conditions and then local area management plans are formed. In different geographial areas, Area Management Plans are formed in the same scope but in different configurations. The objective of this article is the protection of cultural heritage areas which is located in different geographies and taking the decisions for developing them and investigation of Istanbul Historical Peninsula Area Management Plan within the context of participatory planning approach in legislative and administrative framework.

Two Unique Protected Sites with a Modern Heritage in Historical Peninsula in Istanbul

Suleymaniye and Zeyrek areas in the Historical Peninsula containing a combination of the architectural works of different religions, different cultures and communities are two districts which were entitled to be included in UNESCO world heritage list from Istanbul in 1985. Traditional architectural texture in Zeyrek and Suleymaniye among some unique districts of Istanbul, which brings neighborhood-centered lifestyle of Ottoman period in the past to the present, basically consists of wooden houses. Diverging process has affected on these two unique residential areas having their own hierarchical and political characteristics by planned development activities in time and it was forced to sacrifice many works belonging to Ottoman period within the borders. Another modern building obtained as a result of the competition in the Republican Period practically undertakes the task of combining these two estranged areas. Characteristics of the said two protected areas, diverging process and modern heritage acting as a buffer shall be examined in this study.

The 40th Anniversary of the World Heritage Convention and Overview of the 36th Committee Meeting

Every year UNESCO World Heritage Committee Members sit in a conference for the evaluation of latest status of heritage sites under consideration. This year in 2012, the committee sat together for the 36 th times for the same purpose. Apparently this date also marks the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention which was adopted in 1972 for the protection of cultural and natural sites.