Eastern city to apply to add city center to UNESCO list

Sivas Governor's Office has initiated works to add the city center of the eastern province, which hosted many historical artifacts from the Seljuk, Ottoman and Republican periods, to the UNESCO Cultural Heritage Tentative List.

The historical square of the city center encompasses the Buruciye Madrasah, the Sivas Congress building, where Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Türkiye, stayed for 108 days and which hosted a turning point in the War of Independence, the gendarmerie building, and the historical governor's office structure. The historical square is among the places especially most visited by tourists.

After completing the preliminary preparations, an application will be made to UNESCO for the city center, which resembles an open-air museum and hosts multiple cultural structures.

Sivas Governor Yılmaz Şimşek stated that following the inclusion of the Divriği Great Mosque in the UNESCO World Heritage List, a preliminary meeting was held to include the city center in the tentative list.

"Sivas and its surroundings are a region with a rich historical depth. Sivas is a city located on the Silk Road and the King's Road, and it has been a home to many civilizations throughout history," Şimşek said.

"It is possible to see the traces of these civilizations in every corner of our province, especially in the city center. It is crucial for these works to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, as it is of great importance both for the promotion of these works and for the revitalization of tourism in our province," he added.