CIVVIH Mediterranean Sub Committee Meeting 2012
Multilayered Historic Towns
18 to 20 May 2012 – İzmir, Turkey
The meeting is planned around a series of thematic sessions including a blend of presentations. The main subject of the CIVVIH Mediterranean Sub committee meeting which will be held in Turkey will focus on the axis “ Multilayered HistoricTowns”.
Izmir, which has always maintained its existence as a large city in the historical process with the contribution of its crucial geographical and geopolitical location, has a deep past. Its history had been known as 5,000 years until recently; however, it has reached 8,500 years according to the present information with the findings resulting from the excavations carried out in the Yesilova Mound discovered in 2003.
However, many of the historical structures and fabric failed to survive up to the present for reasons such as the disasters like fire and earthquakes seen in the city – the center of Western Anatolia that is the cradle of Civilizations – in the history, as the ancient works were regarded as construction materials and worn out during the development activities in the Ottoman-Turkish Period and due to road construction and extension activities.
Izmir is somewhat reflecting and somewhat hiding the richness of various civilizations it has housed throughout history. Having been settled since the Prehistoric period, the city keeps various historical works of every period. Nevertheless, except for the works that are either entirely or considerably standing, some of the works are ruins, whereas some of them wait underground to be unearthed.
Smyrna,founded at the foot of Pagos (Kadifekale), constitutes the historical core of the city in the context of a settlement in the historical process. Although this area is located within Kemeralti urban site today, it also involves archaeological sites. In this context, this is an area where the traces of different periods of the multicultural and multilayered city of Izmir are most observed and where they both horizontally and vertically coexist.
While multilayeredness is richness in one aspect, it brings about special conservation approaches in another aspect. The unavailability of a complete inventory study regarding the architectural and archaeological values of our cities results in the fact that not all historical values can be included as data in planning at thestage of planning. In multilayered cities, different layer components constitute a whole. The traces of different periods are distinctive identity elements that emphasize the deep-rooted pastof cities. The discipline of urban archaeology, which occurred for the settlement of the conservation problems of multilayered cities, developed as a consequence of the fact that large-scale development activities in the 1980s reflected aquality that threatened the archaeological heritage (Council of Europe, 2002). Integrated conservation was considered in the Granada Convention held in 1985. The Charter for the Protection and Management of the Archaeological Heritage, which was prepared bythe ICAHM and adopted in 1990; the European Convention onthe Protection of the Archaeological Heritage, signed in Valetta in 1992; and the program towards urban archaeology conducted are the steps towards the conservation of the urbanarchaeological heritage (www.coe.int).
In our country, “the urban archaeological site” is defined in Article 6 of the Law on the Conservation ofCultural and Natural Assets No. 2863. Principle Decision No. 658 dated5.11.1999 is also about the conservation of urban archaeological sites. Article 4 of the Principle Decision was amended with Principle Decision No. 702. In Principle Decision No.702 dated 15.4.2005, urban archaeological sites are defined as “areas which include the urban fabric that should be conserved together with archaeological sites, which constitute an integrity with these characteristics and which require special planning for conservation”, and those issues to which attention should be paid in planning studies are included (Principle Decision on the Conditions for the Conservation and Use of Archaeological Sites No. 658,1999; Principle Decision on the Conditions for the Conservation and Use of Urban Archaeological Sites No. 702,2005).
Archaeological works and ruins such as Agora, Theater, Stadium and the Ancient Avenue and the works of theOttoman-Turkish period coexist at Kemeralti urban site. The Agora of Izmir,belonging to the Hellenistic-Roman period, has met the city and been made “visible” through the expropriation activities performed in the recent years. The perception of Agora,with its environment opened, from the Esrefpasa Avenue has made its recognition widespread. Important information onthe history of the city has been obtained with the excavations that haverecently been reflecting continuity. The area where the Agorastructure is located is an archaeological site, whereas its vicinity is anurban site with examples of houses that are partially conserved in terms of fabric and its monumental buildings such as bath, inn and mosque of the Ottoman-Turkish period. In otherwords, the urban cultural assets and the archaeological ruins are partially intertwined in the area.The overlapping of the historical city and the modern city frequently causes ancient ruins to emerge at the foundation stage during the development activities. An intensive inspection on this matter is necessary. Today it may be expressed that the coexistence ofarchaeological ruins and the new building is seen on various modern buildings(like at Sifa Hospital).
In addition, archaeological ruins were revealed during the subway construction at Fevzi Pasa Boulevard and they are exhibited at the Cankaya Station. Such examples reveal various questions about the conservation of multilayered settlements.
How will the past and the present coexist in the future?
How should the traces of different periods be read together?
What should be the integrated conservation approaches of the urban archaeological potential?
How should urban archaeological sites be conserved? What should be the evaluation strategies?
How should they be reflected on the sustainability of cities’ historical centers and on theconservational planning decisions?
These issues will be discussed and answers will be sought for the questions within the scope of the symposium on‘multilayeredness’ that is planned to be held in Izmir.
Special topics proposed for discussion during Turkey meeting are:
a. Context and new directives related to multilayered historic towns.
b. Preservation approaches of Mediterranean’s multilayered cities.
c. Conservation problems and priorities of multilayered historic cities or cores.
d. Sharing best practice swith reference to Mediterranean’s multilayered cities, integrated preservation of Historical Centers, Tourism in the Historical Mediterranean Cities.
Organized by:ICOMOS Turkey & CIVVIH. Organization committee: Sofia Avgerinou-Kolonias (Greece),Nur Akin (Turkey), Eti AkyüzLevi(Turkey) Scientific committee: Teresa Coletta (Italy), Samir Abdulac (France), Nur Akin (Turkey).
