Dating back to the fourth century B.C., Turkey's İznik hosted the Kingdom of Bithynia, Rome, the Seljuk and the Ottomans throughout its history. Before its registration on the UNESCO's Permanent List of World Heritage after the tentative list, boundary modifications were inscribed for the district.
İznik Municipality noted that a coordination meeting was held to inscribe "UNESCO boundary modifications." Chief of İznik Domain professor Murat Taş stated that inscribing the mentioned modifications is of high importance in the name of İznik's nomination for the UNESCO Permanent List of World Heritage.
Taş noted that evaluations, ideas and proposals on the management domain boundaries of the shareholders were put on the table at the meeting.
"In the light of the evaluations and within the scope of the relevant regulations, opinions by institutions, experts and shareholders will be demanded by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. In line with the data, management domain boundaries will be confirmed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and be directed to all the shareholders and the relevant institutions," he said. In the aftermath of the confirmation process, elaborated "Strategic Search Meetings" will be held with the participation of experts and relevant persons who want to deliver opinion on İznik's nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage List.
"The process will go on in line with the management plan and the nomination file which will be developed on the basis of the opinions presented at the meetings. We are aware that İznik, which bears the cultural traces of many civilizations it hosted throughout its history, is in fact more than a heritage. It is a trust that must be preserved for the following generations. With the awareness that İznik is a world heritage and ancient city, we plan to conduct a set of works for its registration on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Planned to be conducted within the body of İznik Domain Directorate and in line with the guidance of experts on architecture, urban planning, archaeology, history of religions, history, art history, agriculture, landscaping, tourism, environment and ceramics, the studies will be quite comprehensive and long. They will also be contributed to by all kinds of shareholders on İznik," said Taş.
In the aftermath of all the mentioned studies, an "Application for Nomination File" will be prepared. The file will offer the management plan developed for İznik's registration on the World Heritage List. On the condition that the file will be confirmed by the relevant committees, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism will apply to UNESCO for registration.