Bursa and Cumalıkızık: the Birth of the Ottoman Empire

Bursa and Cumalıkızık: the Birth of the Ottoman Empire

This property is a serial nomination of eight component sites in the City of Bursa and the nearby village of Cumalıkızık, in the southern Marmara region. The site illustrates the creation of an urban and rural system establishing the Ottoman Empire in the early 14th century. The property embodies the key functions of the social and economic organization of the new capital which evolved around a civic centre. These include commercial districts of khans, kulliyes (religious institutions) integrating mosques, religious schools, public baths and a kitchen for the poor, as well as the tomb of Orhan Ghazi, founder of the Ottoman dynasty. One component outside the historic centre of Bursa is the village of Cumalıkızık, the only rural village of this system to show the provision of hinterland support for the capital.

Turkey

N40 11 5.03 E29 3 44.41

Date of Inscription: 2014

Criteria: (i)(ii)(iv)(vi)

Property : 27 ha

Buffer zone: 249 ha

Ref: 1452

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Selimiye Mosque and its Social Complex

Brief Description

The square Mosque with its single great dome and four slender minarets, dominates the skyline of the former Ottoman capital of Edirne. Sinan, the most famous of Ottoman architects in the 16th century, considered the complex, which includes madrasas (Islamic schools), a covered market, clock house, outer courtyard and library, to be his best work. The interior decoration using Iznik tiles from the peak period of their production testifies to an art form that remains unsurpassed in this material. The complex is considered to be the most harmonious expression ever achieved of the Ottoman külliye, a group of buildings constructed around a mosque and managed as a single institution.

Turkey

N41 40 40 E26 33 34

Date of Inscription: 2011

Criteria: (i)(iv)

Property : 2.50 ha

Buffer zone: 38 ha

Ref: 1366

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Hierapolis-Pamukkale

Brief 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. At the end of the 2nd century B.C. the dynasty of the Attalids, the kings of Pergamon, established the thermal spa of Hierapolis. The ruins of the baths, temples and other Greek monuments can be seen at the site.

Turkey

Denizli Province

N37 55 26.004 E29 7 23.988

Date of Inscription: 1988

Criteria: (iii)(iv)(vii)

Property : 1,077 ha

Ref: 485

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia

Brief Description

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 and underground towns – the remains of a traditional human habitat dating back to the 4th century – can also be seen there.

Turkey

Nevşehir Province (Cappadocia) in Central Anatolia

N38 40 0.012 E34 51 0

Date of Inscription: 1985

Criteria: (i)(iii)(v)(vii)

Property : 9,884 ha

Ref: 357

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Nemrut Dağ

Brief Description

The mausoleum of Antiochus I (69–34 B.C.), 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. 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.

Turkey

Adiyaman Province

N38 2 11.796 E38 45 49.284

Date of Inscription: 1987

Criteria: (i)(iii)(iv)

Property : 11 ha

Ref: 448

Source:  http://whc.unesco.org

Archaeological Site of Troy

Postcard from Cigdem Ozbek of Turkey, Thank you very Much

Brief Description

Troy, with its 4,000 years of history, is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. The first excavations at the site were undertaken by the famous archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in 1870. In scientific terms, its extensive remains are the most significant demonstration of the first contact between the civilizations of Anatolia and the Mediterranean world. Moreover, the siege of Troy by Spartan and Achaean warriors from Greece in the 13th or 12th century B.C., immortalized by Homer in the Iliad, has inspired great creative artists throughout the world ever since.

Turkey

Province of Çanakkale

N39 57 23.184 E26 14 20.4

Date of Inscription: 1998

Criteria: (ii)(iii)(vi)

Property : 158 ha

Ref: 849

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

 

Historic Areas of Istanbul

Postcard from Jo of Starring You:: Thank you very much

Brief Description

With its strategic location on the Bosphorus 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. Its masterpieces include the ancient Hippodrome of Constantine, the 6th-century Hagia Sophia and the 16th-century Süleymaniye Mosque, all now under threat from population pressure, industrial pollution and uncontrolled urbanization.

Turkey

City and Province of Istanbul

N41 0 30.492 E28 58 47.748

Date of Inscription: 1985

Criteria: (i)(ii)(iii)(iv)

Property : 678 ha

Ref: 356

Source: http://whc.unesco.org