Cultural Landscape

Cultural landscapes are geographical areas that have emerged as a result of the long-term interaction between humans and nature, and which possess aesthetic, cultural, historical, and scientific values. These areas present a complex wholeness that encompasses not only physical elements but also beliefs, rituals, ways of life, and traditions.

^{Bergama Multi-Layered Cultural Landscape Area} (Culture Portal)

The concept of "landscape" refers to areas shaped by the interaction and activities of human and/or natural factors. While human presence transforms the landscape into a cultural form, cultural elements also imbue the landscape with new meaning and value. In this context, the terms "cultural landscape" and "cultural man-made landscape" play a central role in understanding rural settlements and other areas through their content related to the culture-nature relationship.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) defines cultural landscapes as "geographical areas that include cultural and natural resources and associated wildlife and domesticated animals, and that serve as the setting for a historical event or activity or exhibit various cultural and aesthetic values."

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee describes cultural landscapes as "joint works of nature and humanity" and focuses on settlements that display exceptional universal value through mosaics reflecting the evolution of human communities under natural conditions as well as social, economic, and cultural influences.

^{Mardin Cultural Landscape Area} (Artkulu Municipality)

The qualities sought in cultural landscape areas include harmony between natural and human-made elements; possession of historical, aesthetic, ethnological, and anthropological value; and the ability to represent the dominant natural features, land-use patterns, and social fabrics in which traditional ways of life have been maintained.

Cultural landscapes can be classified into different categories according to their formation processes and characteristics:

1. Landscapes Deliberately Designed and Created by Humans: This category generally includes gardens, parks, and landscape areas within religious and monumental structures. The Yıldız Palace Complex and Gardens in Istanbul are an example of this type.

^{Yıldız Palace / Hasbahçe} (AA)

2. Organically Evolved Landscapes: These are areas shaped by the interaction between a culture’s socio-economic, administrative, and religious inputs and the natural environment, reflecting an evolutionary process. Subcategories of this group include:

^{Safranbolu Yörük Village} (Safranbolu Tourism Advisory Office)

3. Associative Cultural Landscapes (Auxiliary Cultural Landscapes): Areas in which natural elements are deeply integrated with strong religious, artistic, or cultural attributes. The "Weeping Rock" (Niobe) near Manisa, a natural formation associated with a mythological motif, can be cited as an example of this type.

^{Weeping Rock} (Yunusemre Municipality)

The IUCN classification similarly proposes three categories: "Clearly Defined Landscapes," "Organically Evolved Landscapes" (Geological Heritage-Fossil-Remnant Landscapes, Landscapes with Ongoing Continuity), and "Auxiliary Cultural Landscapes."

Rural settlements face degradation due not only to the wear of time but also to factors such as industry, tourism, secondary housing, changing agricultural policies, the encroachment of urban populations on natural resources, migration, cultural erosion, and macro-level interventions alien to the traditional environment. Legal frameworks support their protection.

Conserving cultural landscapes requires not only the preservation of physical elements but also the sustainability of intangible cultural heritage—beliefs, rituals, crafts. Rural settlements are threatened by temporal degradation, economic changes, tourism pressure, and cultural erosion. Conservation efforts through education and awareness are supported by institutions such as the Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), established in 1998.

The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) is an international civil society organization founded in 1998 by Charles A. Birnbaum in Washington, D.C., USA, with the aim of protecting, promoting, and understanding cultural landscapes. TCLF continues its efforts to raise awareness about the historical significance and conservation of cultural landscapes.

The foundation’s core activities include education, documentation, advocacy, and awareness campaigns. It implements various projects, organizes educational programs and seminars, and contributes to public understanding of the importance of preserving and sustaining cultural landscapes.