Türkiye, which has 22 sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List, will host the 49th session of the World Heritage Committee in Istanbul in 2027.
The country, whose first site was inscribed on the list in 1985, has 80 sites on UNESCO’s Tentative List, the most of any nation. Antalya leads Turkish cities with nine sites on the list. Officials hope at least two or three more Turkish sites will be added to the World Heritage List during the Istanbul session.
Recep Yavuz, head of the Tourism Working Group of the Antalya City Council, said few countries in the world have preserved traces of so many civilizations in the same geography, including the Hittites, Phrygians, Urartians, Lycians, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks and Ottomans.
He described Anatolia as “almost a living open-air museum,” noting that Türkiye has succeeded in having 22 of its significant cultural sites inscribed on the World Heritage List.
“Türkiye’s problem is not a lack of candidates. We have one of the richest Tentative Lists in the world,” Yavuz emphasized. “The real issue is bringing these candidates up to World Heritage standards. As a country, Türkiye ranks first in the world with 80 candidates, while Antalya ranks first among cities with nine.”
Yavuz noted that when people think of Antalya, they mostly think of its sea, sand and sun.
“But there is no other vacation destination in the world with so many ancient cities along its coasts and in its mountains,” he said. “Antalya’s real wealth is its history. If Xanthos had not been inscribed on the list when it was, we would have gone years without a UNESCO site. But that is not enough.”
Applications concerning Antalya gained momentum in the 2000s. “According to my research, there is no other city in the world with as many candidates for the UNESCO World Heritage List as Antalya. I would like to attend next year’s meeting in Istanbul and explain this to the committee,” Yavuz said.
He listed Antalya’s sites currently on the UNESCO Tentative List and the years they were submitted: Karain Cave in 1994; Kekova, Termessos-Güllük Mountain, Alanya and the Church of St. Nicholas in 2000; Perge and the Lycian Cities in 2009; Aspendos in 2015 and the Yivli Minaret in 2016.
Yavuz said he remains hopeful that UNESCO recognition will contribute significantly to Antalya’s cultural development, describing the city as one of the world’s most important destinations.
“Antalya’s candidates in this regard are very strong and important. I particularly believe Termessos deserves to be included on the list,” he said.
“Without a doubt, Termessos is the most remarkable name on this list. It is not simply an extraordinary ancient city; it is a unique landscape where nature and history are perfectly integrated,” he said. “It is one of the iconic cities of world history as the city Alexander the Great failed to conquer and one of the rare archaeological sites preserved within a national park.
Yavuz said the 49th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Istanbul will be highly significant.
“It offers a very important opportunity for Türkiye to once again present its cultural heritage to the world,” he said. “The real objective should be to succeed with nomination files prepared to international standards, a scientifically grounded approach to conservation and sustainable management plans.”
“Anatolia’s cultural heritage remains part of the common heritage of humanity. I believe the process beginning in Istanbul will allow Türkiye not only to gain new World Heritage Sites but also to demonstrate its vision for protecting cultural heritage to the world."
Yavuz said Türkiye should aim to have two or three sites added to the World Heritage List at next year’s meeting in Istanbul, with Termessos’ nomination file submitted to the committee. He said securing UNESCO World Heritage status for a site in Antalya would be a particular priority, adding that the success would ultimately be a victory for Türkiye as a whole.
The UNESCO World Heritage List has 1,273 sites worldwide as of 2026, following the additions approved at the committee’s 48th session in South Korea. Of those, 991 are cultural sites, 240 are natural sites, and 42 are mixed sites with both cultural and natural significance.
A total of 196 states had ratified the convention as of 2026. Türkiye has 22 sites on the World Heritage List, including 20 cultural and two mixed sites.
The Tentative List, which includes sites that have not yet completed the nomination process, includes sites from 190 of the 196 states parties. Türkiye has 80 sites on the list – 73 cultural, four mixed and three natural. Türkiye first submitted sites to the Tentative List in 1994, and most recently added the “Middle East Technical University Campus/Living Modern Cultural Landscape” in 2026.
