There are now 15 sites in Turkey on the Unesco World Heritage List. Now, two more new sites have been added: the ancient city of Ephesus and the historic Diyarbakir Fortress and Hevsel Gardens.
They were included as cultural properties at the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee. Incidentally, Turkey will host next year’s United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization meeting in its capital of Istanbul.
The ancient city of Ephesus, located in Western Turkey in Izmir attracts two million local and international tourists yearly and dates back to 6000 BCE. Throughout history, the city has functioned as an important Roman port city as well as a cultural and commercial hub. Today, it is home to many magnificent structures, including the Library of Celsus, the Great Theatre, the House of the Virgin Mary, and the Temple of Artemis, which is one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
In the South-eastern part of Turkey lies the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, which is famous for its city walls and 8,000 year old Hevsel Gardens. The fortress, which was built in 349CE, is 5.8km long with numerous towers and gates. With its inscriptions written in the Hellenic, Latin, Syriac, Armenian and Arabic languages, the walls are a showcase of the interlacing civilisations in Anatolia. Flowing down from the ancient walls, the fertile lands of the Hevsel Gardens serve as an important green link between the fortress and the Tigris River valley that supplies food and water to the city.
The Unesco World Heritage List is committed towards the protection and conservation of natural and cultural heritage sites worldwide. Entries are selected, based on the universal value that each site provides, and the site must meet at least one out of the ten criteria for selection found in their website.
Source: https://www.star2.com/travel/europe/2015/08/10/turkey-gets-two-new-world-heritage-sites/
