The Medieval Byzantine religious buildings at Trebizond (Trabzon): promotion of local awareness and conservation through interpretation and presentation

Date

2024-4

Author

Kara, Esra Ceren

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The Byzantine Empire, which persisted from the 4th to 15th centuries (330-1453), encompassed a significant period in history and bequeathed a rich cultural heritage across its territories, including Türkiye. However, despite its historical and cultural importance, the attitude towards Byzantium in Türkiye is often marked by reluctance and misconceptions. The Seljuk and Ottoman heritages were emphasised by the political authorities, while Byzantine history and culture have long been neglected and acquired negative connotations. This has led to a lack of awareness and understanding of Byzantine heritage among the public and, consequently, inadequate conservation practices. This research aims to address this challenge by proposing a reinterpretation and presentation of Byzantium by highlighting its values and presenting it to the public as a part of a common cultural heritage. The thesis will analyse the ways to interpret, present and integrate Byzantine heritage into contemporary circumstances through the selected case study of Trebizond (Trabzon) with a holistic approach by focusing on the religious buildings (churches, chapels and monasteries). Structured face-to-face interviews and social surveys will be conducted in the city to assess the local knowledge and attitudes towards Byzantine heritage. Although the vestiges of the Byzantine period remain intact and functional in the city, their rich historical context is largely unknown to many of its users. This situation is even more evident in the case of the converted churches, which are now being used as mosques, museums or successively both. In the city centre of Trebizond, nine out of twelve remaining religious buildings from the Medieval Byzantine period were converted into mosques under Ottoman and Turkish rule. With the exceptions of the Hagia Sophia and Girls Monastery (Kızlar Manastırı), the history of these monuments is unknown to the locals. Thus, promoting local awareness and conservation of the Medieval Byzantine heritage in the city is required. With this premise, the thesis will investigate the values and opportunities offered by the Byzantine cultural heritage in Trebizond and the threats to its conservation, and it will offer proposals for a more effective interpretation and presentation so as to foster local awareness and provide a better understanding of Byzantium. Considering the studied religious buildings as living heritage, the suggested strategies and proposals will be based on the evaluation of the monuments’ physical conditions and the social survey’s outcomes. Therefore, the proposals were developed in accordance with the people-centred approaches.

Subject Keywords

Byzantine/Byzantium, Byzantine cultural heritage, Interpretation and presentation of cultural heritage, Religious architecture, Trebizond

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/109875

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis