A study of the sustainable rehabilitation and preservation of the world heritage Cumalıkızık village, Bursa-Turkey

Abstract

Cumalıkızık is an important village that was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014, described as "Bursa and Cumalıkızık:The Birth of the Ottoman Empire". Cumalıkızık village played an important role in the formation of the Ottoman Empire. The income obtained from taxes on the village was used to finance the Orhan Complex that was connected to the OrhanWaqf. The village is one of the rare settlements that has managed to maintain its authenticity and integrity up until the present day. The village is 10 km from the Bursa city centre. Bursa City is the second largest metropolitan area after Istanbul and is located in the Marmara Region of Turkey. This paper presents the authentic properties of the historical site area; architectural properties of the vernacular buildings; material properties and construction techniques; restoration efforts of the Governorate of Bursa, Yildirim Municipality and the Chamber of Architects Bursa Branch; and a proposal for a sustainable preservation and revitalization model to save the world heritage site of Cumalıkızık Village using contemporary principles of conservation.