Decision 42 COM 7B.31

Historic Areas of Istanbul (Turkey)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/18/42.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 41 COM 7B.52, adopted at its 41st session (Krakow, 2017),
3. Also recalling the long-standing concerns of the Committee on the property,
4. Welcomes the efforts made by the State Party of Turkey to streamline the reporting on the numerous projects in a coherent approach and for being engaged in a close dialogue with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies;
5. Also welcomes the initiation of a project to document Ottoman timber and stone houses and the associated planned stabilization work, requests the State Party to provide further details on the implementation of the project and how this relates to the long-term strategy requested by the Committee;
6. Deeply regrets that, in the past, details and information on development/conservation projects have been submitted after work has been completed and without Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA); consequently, further welcomes the inclusion of a cultural HIA process in the revised Management Plan;
7. Reiterates its request to the State Party to define the attributes that convey the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property in the Management Plan as a matter of priority and before the Plan is finalized and approved;
8. Notes the work proposed for the reconstruction of the Hagia Sophia medrese for which an HIA had been prepared, and the work undertaken on the Land Walls, the Bucoleon Palace, the Chora museum and the Molla Zeyrek mosque;
9. Also notes the large number of proposed infrastructure and other projects, and recommends that the State Party develop a progress report on these, together with a road-map including short- and long-term strategies covering all types of projects (development/renovation/renewal) which may have an impact on the OUV of the property, and determine all required details and steps in close cooperation with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies before any irreversible decisions are taken; and submit this road map to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2019;
10. Encourages the State Party to invite an ICCROM/ICOMOS Advisory mission to review the restoration and conservation projects such as the Chora Museum and the Zeyrek Mosque in line with the recommendations of the 2016 Reactive Monitoring Mission report;
11. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2019, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 44th session in 2020.