Historic Areas of Istanbul

• Commercial development
• Ground/underground transport infrastructure
• Low impact research/monitoring activities
• Management systems/management plan
• Loss of integrity and authenticity: decay and loss of Ottoman/vernacular architecture

Total amount granted: USD 211,900 (Conservation of Hagia Sophia); USD 36,686.30 (Convention France-UNESCO); USD 155,000 (in the framework of the International Safeguarding Campaign for Istanbul and Göreme)

On 1 December 2021, the State Party submitted a detailed progress report in response to Decision 44 COM 7B.58, and on 2 February 2022, a report on the state of conservation of the property, the Executive summary of which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/356/documents/. Both documents outline progress made in relation to the requests of the Committee as well as current projects, as follows:

• Administrative and legal changes have led to the property now being located in an area declared a ‘Special Environment Protection Area’ under the authority of the Ministry of Environment and Public Works. With the approval of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the site Management Directorate’s Advisory Board members were updated, and the Board met in late December 2021;
• Several repair works were completed in Hagia Sophia, including conservation works on the Northern tympanum, emergency repairs on the interior surfaces, the South-West Atrium Landing Ramp at the museum gallery floor and the North, South and East facades of the Hagia Sophia museum. Preparations for conservation works are ongoing for the Minarets, the North and South Courtyard Walls, the Sabil of the South Courtyard Wall, the Fountain of the South Wall and the Water Reservoir in the Tombs Courtyard. These works have sought to interfere as little as possible with the building: the use of materials is suitable for traditional architecture; new methods of material analysis allowed for new data to be determined and restorations decisions were updated accordingly. The Hagia Sophia Madrasa reconstruction, previously positively assessed through an ICOMOS Technical Review, continues. The renovation of the Hagia Sophia toilets was completed;
• The restoration work on Chora is ongoing and was planned to be completed by the end of August 2022;
• Following the recommendations of the UNESCO Advisory missions, the State Party foresaw:
  • An ongoing landscaping project, including an ‘archaeological garden’ regrouping the archaeological remains in the courtyard and gardens of Hagia Sophia,
  • The organization of an international seminar on the conservation of mosaic and frescoes at the end of 2022;
• Information has been provided on completed and ongoing large-scale restoration and landscaping projects on the Sultanahmet Mosque, Suleymaniye complex hospital and lower floor soup kitchen, Topkapi urban park, Molla Gurani Mosque, Kasturya Synagogue, Kalenderhane Mosque, Sogukcesme Military High School, as well as numerous other mosques, madrasahs, schools, burial sites, fountains, cisterns and baths;
• Maintenance and repair have been carried out on eleven vernacular architecture examples in the Zeyrek Area, mainly involving façade and roof insulation, coating and painting works, doors and windows repairs, and addition of zinc pipes and canals. More works on derelict vernacular architecture are proposed in the Fatih district and its borders and in the Nişanca Renewal area;
• Reported works at the Grand Bazaar relate to preventing and repairing damage caused by earthquakes, fire and ground settlings, as well as reshaping the appearance of the bazaar;
• A restoration project for the refunctioning of the Yedikule Fortress aims at repairing the losses related to its original structure in the courtyards, walls and towers by applying the materials and techniques suitable for authentic composition and by repairing surfaces and cleaning. The Fortress is intended to become an accessible outdoor museum and exhibition centre. Restoration works will therefore also take into account accessibility arrangements for the entire area and the assignment of new functions, including a permanent exhibition, as well as the reconstruction of a masjid and a prayer room lost in the early 1900s;
• Works are being undertaken on the Land Walls within the national garden project, with the aim of improving spatial conditions by fitting the recreational needs of locals and visitors and reducing security problems;
• Various constructions such as a High School and University Development projects, residential housing and urban transformation projects are ongoing;
• A Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) for the Kazliçeşme Marina Project was submitted to the World Heritage Centre for technical review by ICOMOS;
• The Yedikule Yenikapi Coastline Renewal Area has received approvals in its different phases;
• The ‘Istanbul Cultural Properties Inventory Project’ is compiling a register of historical artefacts in a digital database based on information collected in the archives and on-site documentation and has become the basic infrastructure for systematically generating information documents, maps and carrying out the analytical work necessary for the actions within the Historic Peninsula Management Plan.

The maintenance and repair of vernacular architecture reconstruction projects for 20th century civil architecture buildings, and the repairs of the building facades are all welcomed. The digitization of the inventory, and the systematic survey of the condition of the structures by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Directorate of Cultural Heritage Conservation is also welcome in providing a quantitative basis for urgent action on ‘buildings at risk’. However, the State Party has not elaborated on how the building projects relate to the long-term strategy for timber buildings requested by the Committee in Decision 42 COM 7B.31 and reiterated in Decision 44 COM 7B.58.

While the scope of the many restoration projects being undertaken at the property is also to be welcomed, the lack of submission of appropriate technical documentation remains a concern. Although some of the documentation previously requested by the Committee has been submitted, this has occurred after decisions have been taken to proceed and/or works have commenced or have been completed, contrary to Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines. For a number of projects, no HIA has been prepared despite the Committee’s request in Decision 44 COM 7B.58.

A further issue is that the Committee’s request that a roadmap including a short- and long-term strategy covering all types of projects which may have an impact on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property be developed has not been implemented and no road map been developed for the Hagia Sofia area. Although the State Party has submitted a finalized Management Plan dated 2018, this had not been submitted for review prior to adoption nor revised to define the attributes of OUV and the recommendations of recent missions have not been addressed, as requested by the Committee in Decision 44 COM 7B.58.

The State Party has reported on the completed works of reconstruction for the Hagia Sophia Madrasa and lavatories and is in the process of implementing the establishment of an ‘Archaeological Garden’ regrouping the archaeological pieces scattered in the southern area of Hagia Sophia. The State Party has not reported on a Master Plan for the entire Hagia Sophia area, which would be beneficial for a long-term vision of the area. Information on the level of humidity created by the carpet on the original floor has not been provided in response to one of the Advisory missions’ recommendations. Regrettably, no update on these points, nor on the international seminar on the conservation of mosaic and frescoes reported to be organised before the end of 2022 was provided by the State Party before the 1 March 2023 deadline.

While the 2021 UNESCO Advisory mission report noted that the ground floor mosaics depicting scenes of Christianity were covered with canvasses but made visible to visitors outside of prayer hours, the World Heritage Centre has received third party information suggesting their permanent covering. Documentation of damage to the oak wood of the 15th century old Imperial Gate, scraped and removed wall plaster, fountains and doors used to store shoes, and damaged marble slabs in Hagia Sophia, and serious concerns about its preservation in view of the massive daily presence of visitors and the celebration of religious events, received by the World Heritage Centre from third parties, were shared with the State Party authorities on 3 May 2022, 30 June 2022 and 12 September 2022. The State Party responded on 13 June 2022 and 6 October 2022, stating that the change of status of Hagia Sophia had not had a negative impact on its accessibility and state of conservation, and that the necessary repairs to the Imperial Gate had been undertaken, a technical personnel unit had been established, and that increased security measures, training and measures to prevent physical contact of visitors with the building were being taken. The State Party also stressed that the restoration and conservation work at Hagia Sophia is carried out in accordance with internationally accepted contemporary conservation principles under the supervision of the Scientific Committee of Hagia Sophia, and that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism is preparing a visitor’s plan, which has not been submitted to the World Heritage Centre to date.

On 27 October 2022, the World Heritage Centre requested from the State Party detailed information on the visiting conditions in place at Hagia Sophia since February 2021 in view of the concerns regarding the coverage of mosaics outside of prayer times. No response has been received from the State Party.

Considering the outstanding symbolic significance of Hagia Sophia in particular, the Committee may wish to express its concern about the reported damage and degradation and invite the State Party to regularly share all detailed information on the different measures taken to address them as well on its monitoring efforts, and, in addition may wish to call on the State Party to take into account the recommendations from previous missions, and request the State Party to inform the World Heritage Centre of the status of their implementation and of any proposed plans for major restoration or new constructions that may affect the OUV of the property, as well as to pursue international cooperation and dialogue, before any further major changes are implemented at the property.

The State Party informed that the large-scale restoration and presentation project undertaken at the Saint Saviour in Chora (Kariye) was due to be completed by the end of August 2022, but no update was provided by the State Party by the deadline of 1 March 2023. No information on a potential Master Plan for the Chora area, as recommended by UNESCO Advisory missions, was provided. The World Heritage Centre has also received information expressing concern about the duration of the restoration works and the removal of objects of historical and/or religious value from the Chora. This information was also shared with the State Party authorities on 3 May 2022, 30 June 2022 and 12 September 2022. The State Party replied on 13 June 2022 and on 6 October 2022 affirming that the restoration process in Chora is under the Scientific Committee’s supervision. The State Party also affirmed that mosaics in Chora are to be covered only during prayer times, as was mentioned for Hagia Sophia in the UNESCO Advisory mission report by the Special Advisor to the Director General.

Work carried out at the Grand Bazaar addresses maintenance and repair needs, although there is a danger that loss of original fabric and patina will reduce the authenticity of the precinct. The Synagogue work appears to be a reconstruction project based on the excavated plan and pre-demolition records, which, while not authentic, does recognise the Jewish contribution to the Ottoman City. The extensive scheme of repair for the Fortress generally appears to follow a ‘minimum intervention’ approach to surviving historic fabric, with the reconstructed tower roofs restoring a distinctive skyline element, evident in historic views. However, the works also seem to involve developing the fortress as a tourist attraction and international exhibition centre, including a new administrative and restaurant building in modern style inside the fortress. These works clearly warrant careful consideration and should be subject to a HIA undertaken in accordance with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context, which should be submitted for review by the World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS prior to commencement of the works.

The ICOMOS Technical Review of the Kazliçeşme Yacht Marina project, for which an HIA was provided, concluded that, although a marina should not be precluded at this location, significant further work is needed to revise this project, including preservation of the line of sight to the Marble Tower, improved visual links generally, anticipation of the impacts of supporting development to the north of Kennedy Caddesi, use of three dimensional modelling, and that revised plans should be prepared and submitted.

In view of the large number of reconstructions undertaken within the World Heritage property without systematically conducting HIAs and/or late notifications of projects (once the works have already started or even been completed), the lack of a strategic roadmap for all types of projects, of a Master Plan for the entire Hagia Sofia area and for Chora area, of a long-term strategy for repairing timber buildings, or of an updated Management Plan, and the fact that previous requests of the Committee, notably in its Decision 44 COM 7B.58, remain unanswered, it is recommended that the Committee request the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring mission to examine the overall state of conservation of the property, to assess and review the different types of projects undertaken in and around the property for their possible impact on the property’s OUV, and to consider progress with the development of a long-term strategy of timber buildings, and a strategic road map for projects.