KAPADOKYA DOĞAL VE KÜLTÜREL MİRAS ALANLARININ KORUMA TARİHİ

Abstract

Conservation activities of cultural heritage in Turkey were started in the late 19th century and accelerated after the second half of 20th century. In this context, inventory and registration activities were started, site and boundary definitions were carried out and administrative and organizational institutions were structured throughout the country. 
 These conservation activities were also expanded in Cappadocia, one of the Turkey’s first region that a National Park Long-Term Development Plan was prepared for in 1968. Moreover, boundary of conservation sites was determined in regional scale and inventory recordings of single buildings were carried out by the decision of High Council for Historic Real Estate and Monuments in 1976. Designation as a World Heritage Site in 1985, then as a National Park in 1986 strengthened the conservation status of the Cappadocia in terms of national and international level. However there has been number of regulations done through the 1990s and 2000s in the scope of conservation of the site, a special conservation law for the Cappadocia came into force in 2019. 
 In this study, Cappadocia as a significant cultural and natural heritage site were discussed regarding the conservation approaches and processes. The conservation history of the site was analyzed by subdividing into several periods by taking into consideration of the country’s general conservation and administrative aspects. Thus, it could be possible to monitor the conservation of Cappadocia, one of the first World Heritage Site of Turkey, in the context of historical continuity.
 In order to establish a holistic approach for the conservation history of Cappadocia, decisions of the conservation councils, institutional archives, expert reports of Ministries, official reports of the meetings, structuring conditions of the plans were examined and evaluated in this study.