TOURMAG / Sonbahar 2021

Cultural Heritage
Mt. Nemrut
XANTHOS-LETOON
The ancient city of Xanthos-Letoon was
added to the UNESCO list in 1988.“Serving
as the capital of the ancient Lycian kingdom
in current-day southwestern Turkey, it illustrates
the blending of Lycian traditions and
Hellenic influence, especially in its funerary
art”, the UN agency underlines.The epigraphic
inscriptions are crucial for our understanding
of the history of the Lycian people and
their Indo-European language.
NEOLITHIC SITE OF CATALHOYUK
Dating back 9,000 years, prehistoric Catalhoyuk
is located in what is today central
Turkey and was added to the list in 2012.“The
site testifies to the evolution of the social
organization and cultural practices as humans
adapted to a sedentary life”, according
to UNESCO.The western mound shows
the evolution of cultural practices in the
Chalcolithic period, from 6200 BC to 5200 BC.
Catalhoyuk provides important evidence of
the transition from settled villages to urban
agglomeration, which was maintained in the
same location for over 2,000 years. It features
a unique streetless settlement of houses
clustered back to back with roof access into
the buildings.
Xanthos-Letoon
GOREME NATIONAL PARK AND
ROCK SITES OF CAPPADOCIA
UNESCO describes Cappadocia as “a
spectacular landscape”, adding the site to
its list in 1985.“The site is entirely sculpted by
erosion”, it says, adding that the Goreme valley
and its surroundings contain rock-hewn
sanctuaries that provide unique evidence of
Byzantine art in the post-Iconoclastic period.
Goreme National Park and
Rock Sites of Cappadocia
GOBEKLITEPE
The famed ancient site of Gobeklitepe is
located in Turkey’s southeastern Sanliurfa
province and was added to UNESCO's list in
2018.“It presents monumental round-oval and
rectangular megalithic structures erected by
hunter-gatherers in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic
age between 9,600 and 8,200 BC”, according
to UNESCO. These monuments were probably
used in connection with rituals, most likely of
a funerary nature.Distinctive T-shaped pillars
are carved with images of wild animals, providing
insight into the way of life and beliefs
of people living in Upper Mesopotamia about
11,500 years ago.
MT. NEMRUT
Located in the Kahta District of the Adiyaman
province, Mt. Nemrut, towers 2,134-meters
(7,001 feet) high and has been a UNESCO
World Heritage site since 1987.“The mausoleum
of Antiochus I (69–34 BC), who reigned
over Commagene, a kingdom 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”, says the UN agency.The syncretism
of its pantheon, and the lineage of its kings,
which can be traced back through two sets
of legends, Greek and Persian, is evidence of
the dual origin of this kingdom's culture.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF ANI
Ani, a medieval Armenian city that is often
called “the City of 1,001 Churches”, is situated
in the eastern Kars province on the Armenian
border. The site was added to the UNESCO list
in 2016. “The site combines residential, religious
and military structures, characteristic of
a medieval urbanism built up over the centuries
by Christian and then Muslim dynasties”,
UNESCO says. The city flourished in the 10th
and 11th centuries CE when it became the
capital of the medieval Armenian kingdom of
the Bagratides and profited from control of
one branch of the Silk Road.The Mongol invasion
and a devastating earthquake in 1319
marked the beginning of the city’s declin. The
site presents a comprehensive overview of the
evolution of medieval architecture through
examples of almost all the different architectural
innovations of the region between the
7th and 13th centuries CE.
Neolithic Site of Catalhoyuk
Gobeklitepe
Archaeological Site of Ani
Ekim / Kasım / Aralık | 2021
October / November / December
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