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Minister Ertuğrul Günay told reporters that the files related to the Selimiye Mosque´s inclusion in the list have been forwarded to an upper commission. “I think this is very good news. I hope the Selimiye Mosque makes it onto the list by June 19,” he said. The Selimiye Mosque is one of the most important architectural structures remaining in Turkey from the Ottoman era.
UNESCO, operating under the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, has two lists: the World Heritage List and the World Heritage Tentative List. In order to be included in the World Heritage List, sites first have to be admitted to the World Heritage Tentative List.
Turkey saw 23 of its sites included in the UNESCO tentative list in 2009 and 27 by 2011. A total of 704 cultural areas from around the world are currently listed on UNESCO´s permanent list, in addition to 180 natural properties and 27 others.
The proposed inclusion of Turkey´s 27 cultural areas, which are currently on the tentative list, is expected to be taken up at a UNESCO meeting scheduled to convene on June 19-29.
Turkey currently has nine historical and cultural sites on the World Heritage List: Göreme National Park and the rock formations of Cappadocia, the Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği, the historic areas of İstanbul, the Hittite capital of Hattusha, Mount Nemrut, Hierapolis-Pamukkale, Xanthos-Letoon, the city of Safranbolu and the archaeological site of Troy.
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