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Historic Centre of Sheki with the Khan’s Palace

Azerbaijan
Factors affecting the property in 2023*
  • Legal framework
  • Management systems/ management plan
Factors* affecting the property identified in previous reports
  • Need to prepare/revise and adopt the Management Plan and Conservation Master Plan
  • Need to define guidelines for residential house restoration
  • Need to monitor all processes of urban rehabilitation
UNESCO Extra-Budgetary Funds until 2023

N/A

International Assistance: requests for the property until 2023
Requests approved: 0
Total amount approved : 0 USD
Missions to the property until 2023**

N/A

Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2023

On 1 December 2022, the State Party submitted a State of Conservation report, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1549/documents/ Progress on a number of conservation issues addressed by the Committee at its previous sessions is presented in that report, as follows:

  • The Urban Regeneration Plan for the property has been updated. The urban protection zones have been reassessed and reframed to provide a clearer explanation of what is protected across the city and how the protection zones relate to the property boundary. A revised copy of the plan has been presented;
  • The State Party has commenced close collaboration with the Development Forest Service, and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is to be implemented in 2023. The aim of this MoU is to improve monitoring processes and seek ways to address encroachment of buildings in the protected forest areas on the southern and eastern boundaries of the buffer zone which is currently affecting approximately 13 hectares;
  • Gradual degradation of the urban landscape and architectural details of the garden city is an issue that is being addressed through regular monitoring carried out by the Yukhari-Bash Reserve Office. Heritage supervisors are in place for each neighbourhood, and this arrangement makes it possible to authorise and monitor development projects in line with the Restoration Manual;
  • The Restoration Manual is being updated to include more precise recommendations on how the structural details of local buildings might be maintained and particular building materials should be treated. The Manual will be augmented by practical details based on case studies. Material in the Manual that relates to new construction will be removed and used to update the Infill Design Manual;
  • The State Party has initiated the establishment of a Special Protection Regime for the property. Under the Law on the protection of cultural monuments, designated reserves have the right to create such regimes. The property is part of the Yukhari-Bash State Historical and Architectural Reserve, and the Reserve Management Centre is driving this initiative. The Special Protection Regime will include rules and regulations for each of the attributes of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) based on detailed inventories. The Restoration Manual and Infill Design Manual will become annexes. Approval of this measure by the Cabinet of Ministers is expected by the end of 2023.
  • Recent archaeological excavations in Sheki Khan Mosque and its gardens have been carried out;
  • Improvements to the Sheki Art Gallery Exhibition area have been made.
Analysis and Conclusion by World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies in 2023

The Committee’s requests reflected the need to strengthen the protection and conservation of the overall historic urban landscape of the property, aspects relating to the planned productive ‘garden city’, and local building traditions, such as distinctive roof constructions and architectural features that reflect oriental characteristics. The State Party’s response reflects the multi-dimensional nature of the task and also recognises the gaps that need to be filled.

Progress has been made in the following areas: the updated Urban Regeneration Plan will strengthen communication through clearer plans and diagrams that set out precisely what is protected; the Yukhari-Bash Reserve Office now has heritage supervisors for each neighbourhood to control development projects; and monitoring of the forestry areas in the buffer zone has been strengthened through a new liaison with the Forestry Service to control encroachment of buildings into the protected forestry areas.

These activities have highlighted areas where further work or tools are required. Firstly, it is clear that the Yukhari-Bash Reserve Office has limited powers over a sizeable part of the property (around 75%), as these areas are privately owned. Owners do not have to obtain authorization for alterations to either their buildings or gardens. This results in the green garden areas being built upon and, as the State Party acknowledges, given the sizeable areas covered by the gardens, this poses a threat to OUV of the property. Secondly, there is no detailed inventory of the elements of the historic urban landscape that need to be monitored. And thirdly, there is currently a lack of clarity as to how certain building elements should be conserved.

The State Party has begun to address these issues. More precise recommendations are being developed to address the conservation of traditional building forms and materials and the Restoration Manual will be augmented to include illustrated diagrams and case studies. An inventorying process for the attributes of OUV has commenced for the whole property. A GIS database will encompass urban form, building types using traditional buildings materials, architectural details and gardens.

The commencement of the process of designating the property as a Special Protection Regime and the guarantees that this new Special Protection Regime will include rules and regulations for each of the attributes of the property’s OUV, based on detailed inventories, are all to be welcomed. There is, though, concern that two of the ensuing measures, namely the development of inventories and the drafting of rules and regulations, are highly complex and need to be grounded in considerable detail, which will take time. While the urgency of establishing improved protection is appreciated, the proposed timeframe for approval by the Cabinet of Ministers by the end of 2023 seems too constrained. It is suggested that the State Party consider a longer timeframe to ensure that these measures are as effective as possible.

Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2023
45 COM 7B.178
Historic Centre of Sheki with the Khan’s Palace (Azerbaijan) (C 1549rev)

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B.Add.2,
  2. Recalling Decision 44 COM 7B.153 adopted at its extended 44th session (Fuzhou/online, 2021),
  3. Welcomes the progress made to strengthen protection and conservation of the overall historic urban landscape of the property, particularly the planned productive ‘garden city’, the distinctive local architectural traditions and the forested setting of the property;
  4. Notes the updated Urban Regeneration Plan, the new liaison with the Forestry Service to improve monitoring, the ongoing monitoring of development projects by the Yukhari- Bash Reserve Office, and the proposed improvements to the Restoration and Infill Manuals;
  5. Also notes that the State Party acknowledges the current weaknesses related to the absence of a detailed inventory of the elements of the historic urban landscape that need to be monitored, and the limited power of the Yukhari-Bash Reserve Office over a sizeable part of the property (approximately 75%) that is privately owned, as owners do not have to obtain authorization for alterations to either their buildings or garden areas, and expresses concern over that green garden areas are being built upon which, as the State Party acknowledges, poses a threat to Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
  6. Also welcomes the commencement of an inventorying process for the attributes of the OUV and the development of a GIS database to encompass urban form, building types, traditional buildings materials, architectural details and gardens;
  7. Further welcomes the initiation of the process of designating the property as a Special Protection Regime of the Yukhari-Bash State Historical and Architectural Reserve, which will define rules and regulations for each of the attributes of the property’s OUV based on detailed inventories, and formally recognise the Restoration and Infill Manuals;
  8. Further notes the proposed timeframe for the completion of the inventories, and rules and regulation necessary for the finalisation of the Special Protection Regime and its intended approval by the Cabinet of Ministers by the end of 2023, but considers that this timeframe is too tight to allow these to be defined in ways that ensure that the measures are as effective as possible, and requests the State Party to consider extending this timeframe;
  9. Recommends that the State Party submit drafts of the inventory and of the rules and regulations for the proposed Special Protection Regime to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies, in advance of either being finalized;
  10. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2024, 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 47th session.
Draft Decision: 45 COM 7B.178

The World Heritage Committee,

  1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/7B.Add.2,
  2. Recalling Decision 44 COM 7B.153, adopted at its extended 44th session (Fuzhou/online, 2021),
  3. Welcomes the progress made to strengthen protection and conservation of the overall historic urban landscape of the property, particularly the planned productive ‘garden city’, the distinctive local architectural traditions and the forested setting of the property;
  4. Notes the updated Urban Regeneration Plan, the new liaison with the Forestry Service to improve monitoring, the on-going monitoring of development projects by the Yukhari- Bash Reserve Office, and the proposed improvements to the Restoration and Infill Manuals;
  5. Also notes that the State Party acknowledges the current weaknesses related to the absence of a detailed inventory of the elements of the historic urban landscape that need to be monitored, and the limited power of the Yukhari-Bash Reserve Office over a sizeable part of the property (approximately 75%) that is privately owned, as owners do not have to obtain authorization for alterations to either their buildings or garden areas, and expresses concern over that green garden areas are being built upon which, as the State Party acknowledges, poses a threat to Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property;
  6. Also welcomes the commencement of an inventorying process for the attributes of the OUV and the development of a GIS database to encompass urban form, building types, traditional buildings materials, architectural details and gardens;
  7. Further welcomes the initiation of the process of designating the property as a Special Protection Regime of the Yukhari-Bash State Historical and Architectural Reserve, which will define rules and regulations for each of the attributes of the property’s OUV based on detailed inventories, and formally recognise the Restoration and Infill Manuals;
  8. Further notes the proposed timeframe for the completion of the inventories, and rules and regulation necessary for the finalisation of the Special Protection Regime and its intended approval by the Cabinet of Ministers by the end of 2023, but considers that this timeframe is too tight to allow these to be defined in ways that ensure that the measures are as effective as possible, and requests the State Party to consider extending this timeframe;
  9. Recommends that the State Party submit drafts of the inventory and of the rules and regulations for the proposed Special Protection Regime to the World Heritage Centre, for review by the Advisory Bodies, in advance of either being finalized;
  10. Requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2024, 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 47th session.
Report year: 2023
Azerbaijan
Date of Inscription: 2019
Category: Cultural
Criteria: (ii)(v)
Documents examined by the Committee
SOC Report by the State Party
Report (2022) .pdf
arrow_circle_right 45COM (2023)
Exports

* : The threats indicated are listed in alphabetical order; their order does not constitute a classification according to the importance of their impact on the property.
Furthermore, they are presented irrespective of the type of threat faced by the property, i.e. with specific and proven imminent danger (“ascertained danger”) or with threats which could have deleterious effects on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (“potential danger”).

** : All mission reports are not always available electronically.


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