TOURMAG / Sonbahar 2021

Cultural Heritage
Ephesus
Bursa and Cumalıkızık
Great Mosque and Hospital of Divrigi
EPHESUS
Also in Izmir province, the world-renowned
ancient city of Ephesus was added to the
UNESCO list in 2015.The UN body celebrates
grand monuments of the Roman Imperial
period including the Library of Celsus
and the Great Theater, which have been
unearthed in excavations.“Little remains of
the famous Temple of Artemis, one of the
‘Seven Wonders of the World’, which drew
pilgrims from all around the Mediterranean,
The House of the Virgin Mary, a chapel close
to Ephesus has also become a place of Christian
pilgrimage”, it says.
HISTORIC AREAS OF ISTANBUL
“Turkey's largest city Istanbul has been associated
with major political, religious, and
artistic events for more than 2,000 years”,
the UN has said.Its masterpieces include
the ancient Hippodrome of Constantine, the
6th-century Hagia Sophia and the 16th-century
Suleymaniye Mosque.However, it has
warned that all these sites are now under
threat from population pressure, industrial
pollution and uncontrolled urbanization.
Istanbul was added to the list in 1985.
social and economic organization of the Ottomans'
first capital, which evolved around
a civic centre.The village of Cumalikizik is
the only rural area to show the provision of
hinterland support for the capital.
CITY OF SAFRANBOLU
Added to the UNESCO list in 1994, the City of
Safranbolu, a typical Ottoman town, is located
in northern Turkey.“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”, UNESCO says.It features an Old
Mosque, Old Bath and the Suleyman Pasha
Medrese, which were built in 1322. During
its apogee in the 17th century, Safranbolu's
architecture influenced urban development
throughout much of the Ottoman Empire.
the ensemble of rock art at Yazilikaya.“The
city enjoyed considerable influence in Anatolia
and northern Syria in the 2nd millennium
BC”, it adds.
GREAT MOSQUE AND
HOSPITAL OF DIVRIGI
The distinguished 11th-century Great
Mosque and Hospital of Divrigi are located
in central Turkey. It was added to the
UNESCO list in 1985.With its single prayer
room and two cupolas, the mosque exhibits
a "highly sophisticated technique of vault
construction, and a creative, exuberant
type of decorative sculpture -- particularly
on the three doorways, in contrast to the
unadorned walls of the interior", it describes
the "unique features of this masterpiece of
Islamic architecture."
City of Safranbolu
Arslantepe Mound
Historic Areas of Istanbul
BURSA AND CUMALIKIZIK
In northwestern Turkey, the city of Bursa and
nearby village of Cumalikizik were added to
the UNESCO list in 2014, as a serial nomination
of eight component sites.“The site
illustrates the creation of an urban and rural
system establishing the Ottoman Empire in
the early 14th century”, it says, adding that
the area embodies the key functions of the
HATTUSHA
Hattusha, the capital of the Hittites - one of
the most ancient Anatolian civilizations - was
added to the UNESCO list in 1986.The city's
remains, located in present-day central
Turkey, is notable for its urban organization,
the types of construction that have been
preserved, including temples, royal residences,
fortifications.UNESCO also notes the rich
ornamentation of the Lions' Gate and the
Royal Gate into the city's interior, as well as
Hattusha
ARSLANTEPE MOUND
Located in eastern Turkey, the 7,000-yearold
ancient mound of Arslantepe was added
to the UNESCO list just earlier this year.
The site was occupied from at least the sixth
millennium BC until the late Roman period,
says UNESCO, citing archeological evidence.
The earliest layers of the Early Uruk period
are characterized by adobe houses from
the first half of the 4th millennium BCE.
The site illustrates the processes which led
to the emergence of a State society in the
Near East and a sophisticated bureaucratic
system that predates writing. Exceptional
metal objects and weapons have been
excavated at the site, among them the
earliest swords so far known in the world,
which suggests the beginning of forms of
organized combat as the prerogative of an
elite, who exhibited them as instruments of
their new political power.
Ekim / Kasım / Aralık | 2021
October / November / December
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