Cultural heritage inventory records in Turkey rose to 294

Some 180 cultural and artistic values in a wide range from Turkish culinary culture to traditional arts have been added to Turkey's national inventory of the intangible cultural heritage, raising the count to 294.

Records of 1,249 local and sub-elements were made and included in the national inventory system and the items decided were increased to 294 within the scope of a study, which aims to serve as a guide for the heritage determination commissions in Turkey's 81 provinces.

The purpose of the study is to rapidly increase the number of items in the national inventory and the number of registrations in the provinces in a short time.

The national inventory will be published on the ministry's website.

Turkey is one of the top five among the 178 countries party to the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage to have up to 18 registered elements on the list.

Okan İbiş, a ministry official whose views were quoted in the statement, noted that in order for an element to be submitted to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists, it must first be registered in the national inventory.

İbiş stated that within the scope of the inventory study, both the determination and registration of the cultural and artistic values of the country were carried out, bringing forth the high potential of the intangible cultural heritage element that could be registered with UNESCO.