Türkiye Cumhuriyeti’nin Yüz Yıllık Geçmişinde Bursa’daki Osmanlı Kimliğini Sürdürmeye Yönelik Çabalar

Abstract

The sustainability issue of historical urban identities, which has occupied the agenda of different countries since the late 19th century and transformed in parallel with international declarations on the conservation of cultural heritage, has contributed to the contemporary conservation approach adopted by the Republic of Turkey. Despite being a developing industrial city, Bursa has been one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, since 2014, and still has the richness of cultural assets revealing mostly the Early Ottoman period architectural character. Hence, this study aims to examine the attempts to sustain the historic identity of Bursa, which is the first capital of the Ottoman Empire. In this concept, firstly, the conservation activities varied in association with the changing legal aspects in Türkiye are analyzed and presented in chronological order. Afterward, the challenges and successes in providing local and governmental implementations to conserve the Ottoman identity structures are assessed in light of the four Conservation Acts approved in 1951, 1973, 1983, and 2004. By this, it is aimed to understand how the conservation activities carried out to sustain the cultural heritage in Bursa follow the changes in the national legal aspects. In the conclusion section, it is also discussed whether there is a tendency towards the maintenance of the Ottoman identity of Bursa in the conservation decisions and practices although it has a multi-layered spatial character to be conserved.