Property in Turkey

One of the World’s Oldest Cities Catalhoyuk Is Listed on Unesco’s World Heritage List

World Heritage Committee, which convened in St. Petersburg in Russia, agreed unanimously to inscribe the Neolithic city Çatalhöyük on the UNESCO World Heritage List. According to the decision of the World Heritage Committee, consisting of experts from 21 countries, the Neolithic city of Çatalhöyük meets the essential requirements of the World Heritage Convention in that it maintains its unity, authenticity and outstanding universal value.

The report mentions that the site, dating back to 7400 BC, bore witness to a certain stage of the Neolithic period, that its settlement pattern represented an important milestone in human history, and that the city planning was based on ideals of equality and social understanding of the times. With the inscription of Çatalhöyük to the World Heritage List, the number of Turkey’s world heritage sites has reached eleven. Last year, the World Heritage Committee had inscribed the Edirne Selimiye Mosque and Complex to the list. UNESCO experts have expressed that the inclusion of the Neolithic city of Çatalhöyük had corrected an important deficiency in the list and that it was a major development in terms of the coverage of all phases of human history. The site where archaeological excavations still continue lies within the province of Konya.