Directly after the conference of the World Heritage Committee, UNESCO, it was said in a statement that the Committee has requested a visit to Turkey regarding the of the inspection of Amed’s fortress and the Hevsel Cultural Landscape Gardens.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) organized the 43rd World Heritage Committee meeting in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. UNESCO published a report prior to the meeting and made evaluations on the conservation activities of the Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape Area.
During the curfew that started in 2015, many of the buildings were heavily damaged in Sur, and the report included the views of the World Heritage Center. In the report, it was stated that it is regrettable that the restoration work in Sur and surrounding structures related to the UNESCO report was started without examination as specified.
It was noted that the report presented by Turkey does not include details of the urban transformation. It was advised that the Tigris River Improvement work carried out in relation to the Project be continued through observation of the UNESCO delegation.
TURKEY SHOULD GIVE A DATE
Following the report, it was noted that there is a potential for damaging the “Superior Universal Value of Diyarbakır Walls and its environs, and the recommendation of the Reactive Monitoring Mission to investigate and stop the works until the results are revealed.
The report also reminded that the state of emergency is over, the UNESCO Committee was asked to be given a date by Turkey to inspect the city.
WALLS IN UNESCO LIST IN 2015
At the 39th Session of the World Heritage Committee held in Bonn, Germany, in 2015, it was decided to register the Diyarbakır Walls and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape Area on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
