Within the framework of the 17th General Conference of UNESCO, held in Paris, between October 17 - November 21, 1972 "Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage" was adopted on 16th of November 1972 to ensure the necessary cooperation to keep alive the cultural and natural values, to create awareness on promoting cultural and natural assets of the world with in the community, accepted as common heritage of humanity with universal values, which are deteriorating for various reasons.
This Agreement, dated April 14, 1982 by Law No. 2658, which found us suitable to participate, has beni approved by the Council of Ministers Decision No. 8/4788 dated May23, 1982 and was promulgated in the Official Gazette issue no: 17959.
International important and therefore admirable and worth protecting natural formations, monuments and sites are recognized as "World Heritage" status. Candidate assets gain this status in accordance with the decision of the World Heritage Committee, after completion of evaluations of the applications by the experts of International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the International Union for Conversation of Nature (IUCN), which start with the application to UNESCO by the member states that have accepted the agreement.
As of 2014 there are 1007 cultural and natural assets registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List worldwide, of which are 779 cultural, 197 natural and 31 mixed (cultural / natural) assets. This number is increasing by the World Heritage Committee meetings held each year. Detailed information can be accessed on the official website ok World Heritage Centre at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list
As a result of works led under the responsibility of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums, 13 assets are recognized by the UNESCO World Heritage List in Turkey.
At the World Heritage Committee's 38th Term Meeting, held in Qatar's capital, Doha from 15th - 25th June 2014, six entities from Turkey entered the World Heritage List in the Cultural Category: "Bursa and Cumalıkızık: Rise of the Ottoman Empire" as World Heritage Area; Orhangazi Mosque Complex and its surroundings including Hanlar District, Hüdavendigar (Murat I.) Complex, Muradiye (Murat II.) Complex and Cumalıkızık Village at 998th place.
Bursa's Intangible Cultural Heritage Studies
As a result of studies conducted at an international level in order to avoid the loss of local richness's and diversities, UNESCO adopted the "Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention emphasizes the need of the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage items in regard to respecting the cultural diversity and the human creativity, in order to give a sense of identity and sustainability to groups and communities and the need to pass these on to future generations.
As of December 2014, Turkey has 12 registered historical heritage items on this list. In 2009, Karagöz has been registered on the list of UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Iznik tile, Bursa Knife, Bath tradition, Erguvan (Judas tree) Festival, Gerek Culture And Danışık Entertainment are some of the items that are registered in the scope of the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage Works in 2013 by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, in order to pass these on to the future generations, to promote and to disseminate.
