Sacred and Cultural Heritage of Sacred Cities

Sacred cities hold not only heritage value and sacred value but also cultural values that play an active role in shaping the life and space of these cities. In this study, the concepts of sacred heritage and city, which are included in the "analysis frameworks defining cultural heritage" set forth by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) in 2004, are described through examples considered to be sacred to the monotheistic religions. The definition criteria for sacred cities were established within the framework of sacredness, divinity, common and differentiated characteristics of space(s) in belief systems, formation of sacred spaces in the natural and built environment, and tangible and intangible factors. The empirical evaluation performed as part of this study was based on the sacred city definition criteria governing cities that belong to living celestial (divine) religions, that are part of the built-architectural environment (man-made), that have preserved their religious and cultural values to date and are still considered sacred, and that allow religious functions to be performed. The results of the study revealed that the tangible and intangible values of the sacred cities, which are defined by their present cultural qualities, reflect the meanings that people attribute to the place. While in every city there are sanctuaries or temples, the differences in their sacred values can only be understood by establishing criteria for defining sacred cities. This study aimed to raise awareness about sacred cities within the expanding scope of cultural heritage values that need to be protected, and to examine the heritage values of sacred cities, the first study to do this.