CULTURAL HERITAGE MANAGEMENT IN TURKEY AND EGYPT

First off, what is cultural heritage management?

Cultural Heritage Management Concepts (CHM) There is a growing interest in the management of cultural heritage properties which has increased especially after UNESCO issued the guidelines of heritage management. The concept of Cultural Heritage Management is handled in several disciplines, which have different interest areas related to cultural and archaeological resources such as archaeological heritage management, historical buildings and sites managing or monitoring and evaluation of historical sites (UNESCO), all providing different perspectives and definitions about CHM. The management studies on heritage sites began in the 1970s and the concept was first used by The ICOMOS International Committee on Archaeological Heritage Management (ICAHM). In 1972, UNESCO World Heritage Convention established the “World Heritage Committee”, which aims to preserve the cultural and natural heritage worldwide with responsibility of determining the World Heritage. In literature, the Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Research, discipline dealing with cultural sites management is also known as Cultural Resources Management (CRM). For instance, in the Unites States, much of historic preservation is carried out in a framework of 1999; CRM which contains different concepts such as conservation, restoration, safeguarding, history, architecture and preservation of archaeological sites. Many changes have occurred in CHM since 1993. Firstly, ICOMOS issued its guideline, as well as UNESCO which started writing the Guidelines for the Management of World Cultural Heritage Sites, that was modified respectively in 1993 and 1998. In the 2000s, the CHM approach was modified globally, and many European projects applied it. Additionally, in the same decade, the sustainability concept became a significant principle for conserving heritage sites. The World Heritage concept becomes substantial in the context of CHM approach as it gives priority to managing heritage sites. Recently, the cultural heritage management approaches have changed. They have been transformed from “the conventional approach” which gives more attention to the resource itself, to “the human approach”, which gives attention to the resource and the visitor to achieve the required balance regarding the quality of the visitor experience (Rowe, 2009), while following the preservation practices and principles at the heritage property (Figure 1). Moreover, the local community participation in heritage management and ensuring the benefits for them becomes one of the most important principles in managing cultural heritage. The outstanding universal value of heritage becomes the indicator of choosing the cultural heritage to be in the World Heritage List and this gives priority for management. Preservation of cultural heritage can increase the awareness of values, cultural identity, and support sustainability in the world of globalization. Cultural heritage management is a complicated and changeable process, and it should be modified according to the changes in the political, economic, and physical settings.


CULTURAL HERITAGE MANAGEMENT IN TURKEY AND EGYPT

 In recent years, cultural heritage management in Turkey and Egypt is facing various problems, i.e., the poor condition of many heritage properties due to development pressures, tourism, and agricultural growth. Even though Turkey and Egypt have an appropriate legislative context theoretically, the governments have many challenges- regarding financial resources, staff, and skills – to implement it. It becomes so difficult to understand the status of heritage in one country without recognizing the background of this country such as the economic and political situation and its cultural policies. These elements have impressive impacts on the business and management environment (Zan, 2014). CHM mainly concerns the legal and administrative requirements. In respect to safeguarding whether Turkey and Egypt are managing these sites effectively, it is essential, firstly to evaluate the current situation and to reveal the troubles that these sites have. Two main categories of troubles could be noted. The general problems in all cultural heritage sites in both countries are often related to the national system of WHS management as well as the problems which are related particularly to the heritage sites themselves.

Rahma Qader.