News, Etc.
Demolition of the historic Gypsy neighborhood, Sulukule, plans to build an underground metro line across the Golden Horn, a hotel construction over the ruins of the Grand Palace of the Byzantine Empire and other similar projects that impair Istanbul’s historical and cultural heritage might cause UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization) to put the city on its list of World Heritage Sites in Danger.
During the UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee meeting in Spain, the organization gave Turkey a respite until February 2010 to rectify its position in safeguarding Istanbul’s cultural and social heritage and decided to keep the city on its list of World Heritage Sites until then.
Turkey is expected to submit a report to the committee’s next meeting in Argentina on work it is planning to do to protect the historical sites and monuments.
This is the third time UNESCO is giving Turkey additional time to take measures so that Istanbul is not transferred to the list of Heritage Sites in Danger. Istanbul was included in the list of World Heritage Sites in 1985 but in 2006 and then in 2008 the Committee considered to take the city out of the list because of Turkey’s failure to protect the city’s historical sites and social characteristics.
Feyzullah Ozcan, Istanbul’s deputy governor, who represented Turkey at the meeting in Spain said that the decision was “the best for Turkey at this stage.” “We have not been put on the list of World Heritage Sites in Danger,” he added.
To be on UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites is a prestigious thing, Ozcan said. “It gives you respectability. But this is a political choice. You can say ‘We do not have to be on that list,’ but this is a decision that belongs to our administration,” he added.
Additional time is given because what’s being done is not positive
“For years, the discussion whether we are on the list or not is continuing. Whatever is being done (to protect the historical heritage) is not seen positively and that is why they keep giving us additional time,” said Dr. Yildiz Salman, from the Restoration Department of Istanbul Yildiz Technical University.
“If we can perceive and evaluate correctly, the additional time would be useful,” she said.
“If we are knocked out of the list, this would mean that we fail to appreciate the history and it would also show that whether we accept it as our heritage or not. To be taken off the list would be tantamount to telling us, ‘Look, you had an exceptional city but you failed to appreciate its value and you neglected looking after it,” Dr. Salman commented.
Istanbul Cultural Capital of Europe in 2010
Dr. Cengiz Aktar, one of the advisors of the board in charge of preparations for 2010 Istanbul Cultural Capital of Istanbul says that in a report in 2006 UNESCO observed that the Turkish authorities failed to apply international standards in preservation and renovation projects.
“If Istanbul is transferred to the list of heritage sites in danger this would be a disaster because we are expecting to see the city as the cultural capital of Europe in 2010,” Dr. Aktar said.
Gypsy quarter demolished
Most of Istanbul’s Gypsy quarter, Sulukule was demolished this year under an “Urbanization Scheme” and city planners claimed that the inhabitants would be settled in a housing complex 70 kilometers out of town. Naturally, most of the Sulukule inhabitants refused to go to their new homes.
The neighborhood used to house musicians, belly-dancers and street peddlers. Earlier this year members of UNESCO’s Heritage Committee visited the neighborhood and advised Turkish authorities to protect the cultural characteristics of Sulukule with measures to improve the living conditions of the inhabitants. But this was not done.
Resignations
In March several members of the Executive Board for the 2010 Istanbul project resigned from their posts after disagreements with municipal authorities.
Safeguarding the cultural and historical heritage of Istanbul has always been a problematic issue but in 2010, arguments over the subject look like getting more heated than ever.