TOURMAG / Sonbahar 2021

Cultural Heritage
Turkey's heritages enjoy
UNESCO stamp
CENAY TOPRAKKAYA
As of 2021, there are 1,154 cultural and
natural sites worldwide registered on the
UNESCO World Heritage List. With the
addition of the Arslantepe Mound earlier this
year, Turkey currently boasts 19 sites on the
UNESCO World Heritage List, including 17
cultural and two mixed.
SELIMIYE MOSQUE AND
SOCIAL COMPLEX IN EDIRNE
Added to the UNESCO list in 2011, the
Selimiye Mosque and its social complex in
Turkey's northwestern province of Edirne was
constructed by Sinan, the most renowned
Ottoman architect in the 16th century.Its
complex includes madrasas (Islamic schools),
a covered market, a clock house, an outer
courtyard, and a library.“The square Mosque
with its single great dome and four slender
minarets, dominates the skyline of the former
Ottoman capital of Edirne”, according to UNE-
SCO's website.Adorned by tiles from the town
of Iznik renowned for its ceramics at the peak
period of their production, the organization
says the mosque testifies to an art form that
remains unsurpassed in this material.
Selimiye Mosque and
Social Complex in Edirne
Pergamon and Multı-Layered
Cultural Landscape
PERGAMON AND MULTI-LAYERED
CULTURAL LANDSCAPE
Located in Turkey's Aegean province of
Izmir, Pergamon and its surrounding
multi-layered cultural landscape was
added to the list in 2014.“As the capital of
the Hellenistic Attalid dynasty, the acropolis
of Pergamon was a major center of learning
in the ancient world”, says UNESCO.“Monumental
temples, theatres, stoa or porticoes,
gymnasium, altar, and library were set
into the sloping terrain surrounded by an
extensive city wall”, it adds.It is possible to
see the remains of the Roman, Byzantine,
and Ottoman empires in and around the
modern town of Bergama.
60 Ekim / Kasım / Aralık | 2021
October / November / December