Iznik is on the way to UNESCO step by step
The UNESCO journey has accelerated in Bursa's Iznik district, Turkey's only candidate for the 2024 UNESCO World Heritage List. Gabriela Semova Koleva, an expert assigned from the ICOMOS International Council of Monuments and Sites, the advisory body of UNESCO, which officially started the candidacy process by finding the complete file of Iznik, came to Iznik for field research to examine the current state of historical artifacts and their preservation status. The Metropolitan Municipality stepped in to include Iznik, which is of great importance for Christianity, on the UNESCO World Heritage List, as it hosts two of the most important ecumenical councils recognized by all churches, which contain Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman works from ancient times to the present. As it will be remembered, Iznik was included in the World Heritage Tentative List in 2014, as it is a unique historical city that carries the tangible and immaterial values of civilizations to the present day. In order to carry out permanent candidacy studies, Iznik Area Presidency was established within the Metropolitan Municipality in 2016. The management plan prepared by the Iznik Site Presidency was approved by the Coordination and Supervision Board in May 2022 and entered into force. The candidacy file of Iznik, prepared in accordance with the UNESCO implementation guide, was submitted to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in August 2022. The management plan and candidacy file, which was completed in a short time like 1 year by the Iznik Site Presidency, was deemed worthy of being a candidate for the permanent list of UNESCO in the evaluation made by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
The Ministry sent only the permanent candidacy file of Iznik from Turkey to the UNESCO World Heritage Center on September 19, 2022. While UNESCO, which accepted Turkey's Iznik File as complete in terms of content and format, officially started the candidacy process, the file was forwarded to the International Council of Monuments and Sites, the advisory body of UNESCO. Gabriela Semova Koleva, an expert assigned from ICOMOS, came to Iznik to examine the conservation status of the areas presented in the file.
a universal legacy
ICOMOS Expert Gabriela Semova Koleva's examination and evaluation program, which will last for 1 week in Iznik district, started with Iznik ICOMOS Mission Meeting held in Iznik Municipality Conference Hall. Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Alinur Aktaş, who spoke at the meeting, reminded that İznik hosts the traces of the transition between civilizations with its monumental structures from the Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman periods. President Aktaş noted that Iznik was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List as a result of the studies initiated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2014, considering that it is a universal heritage left not only to Turkey but to all humanity; “First of all, as a result of the efforts that gained momentum after the formation of the Presidency of the Area committees by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the 'Iznik Management Plan' was approved and included in the national management plans. Afterwards, the application file titled 'Iznik: Traces of the Transition Between Civilizations', which was prepared as a result of the intense work carried out by the Iznik Site Presidency, was sent to the UNESCO World Heritage Center in Paris to be included in the main list. After the content of the file was found to be 'complete', the candidacy process was officially started, and the expert assigned from ICOMOS, Gabriela Semova Koleva, will prepare a report by examining our candidacy file both in terms of content and the current state of historical artifacts and their preservation status. It is expected that the reports of ICOMOS on the site will be presented to the committee members at the UNESCO World Heritage Committee Meeting in Iznik in 2024, and the final decision will be made by the committee. I would like to thank our Municipality, our Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, our Mayor of Iznik Kağan Mehmet Usta, our Head of Iznik Field Associate Professor Şehnaz Eraslan Aligüzel, and all stakeholder institutions and organizations for their support in this process, which is extremely important for our country and city. Good luck and good luck to our country, Bursa and Iznik"
"We will do our best" Speaking at the meeting, Mayor of Iznik, Kağan Mehmet Usta, stated that they are very excited as the people of Iznik, and said that they are doing important work in terms of better recognition and better protection of Iznik. Stating that his biggest supporters in this process are the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Usta said, “I hope that we will progress faster as a result of these evaluations. Whatever task we have, we are always at the disposal of the Presidency of the Area. We are doing our best to protect, develop and promote our city, and we will continue to do so.” Our Head of Iznik Area, Associate Dr. Şehnaz Eraslan Aligüzel, thanked Metropolitan Mayor Alinur Aktaş and Iznik Mayor Kağan Mehmet Usta for their support during this exhausting process. In the session held after the opening speeches, ICOMOS expert Gabriela Semova Koleva explained the role of ICOMOS in the evaluation process. Gabriela Semova Koleva will not only listen to presentations on the fields in the candidacy file, but also make technical visits in the field, within the framework of a week-long evaluation program in Iznik.