Protecting cultural and natural heritage is not simply a matter of storing objects or buildings from the past. Conservation is the ability to pass on knowledge, memory, local identity and the very people who keep that heritage alive. Born out of ÇEKÜL Foundation’s long experience in conservation, documentation and fieldwork, the Ortak Bellek (Shared Memory) and Rota Miras (Heritage Route) projects set out to carry Anatolia’s legacy into tomorrow in exactly this spirit.
One strengthens our intellectual and digital archive by keeping a record of knowledge; the other turns that knowledge into a lived experience in the field, across the landscape itself. Together, these twin projects stand as the most tangible expression of a holistic approach to conservation.
Living Memory: Ortak Bellek
Anatolia is a vast accumulation in which oral traditions, crafts, building techniques and local ways of life are layered just as densely as written documents. Yet knowledge that is not properly documented and made publicly accessible risks disappearing over time.
Ortak Bellek is a digital archive and knowledge platform that gathers, organizes and opens up the cultural heritage data produced by cities, civil society, researchers and local practitioners under a single roof. Because all of the material draws on ÇEKÜL’s academic sources and Prof. Dr. Metin Sözen’s own recordings, users do not need to verify the accuracy of what they find. An AI-based ÇEKÜL assistant offers researchers the chance to reach reliable information quickly and to save time using today’s technology.
- Democratic access to knowledge: It makes trustworthy, high-quality, curated cultural heritage data available to everyone, from academics and students to local administrators and curious citizens.
- Preserving urban memory: It sets out the identity card of settlements under pressure from rapid urbanization and transformation, and brings half-forgotten local values back into view.
- A foundation for academic and institutional research: It builds a rich reference base for those working in local history and conservation, opening the way to serious publications and research.
Following the Traces: Rota Miras
Conservation takes on meaning when we approach a cultural asset not as an isolated building, but as part of a whole that includes its geography, its routes, its ecosystem and the human relationships around it. Rota Miras is a guide-based working model that makes Anatolia’s tangible and intangible heritage visible by framing it along thematic and geographical routes.
Stretching from registered monuments to elements of intangible heritage, from natural areas to centers of local production, these routes lift cultural heritage out of the display case and turn it into a living experience.
- Sustainable and responsible tourism: It steers visitors away from the pressures of mass tourism and towards distinctive, high-quality destinations that respect the spirit of the landscape and support the local economy.
- Local belonging and awareness: It helps the community living in a region recognise the value of the heritage on its own doorstep, take ownership of it, and internalize a culture of conservation.
- Rural and local development: By giving visibility to local producers, artisans and small businesses along the route, it aims to support culture-led models of micro-development.
A Holistic Future for Conservation
Ortak Bellek and Rota Miras form two complementary pillars: while Ortak Bellek records knowledge, shares it with society and assists those who seek it, Rota Miras brings our physical footsteps together with these heritage sites in a meaningful and responsible way. Neither project is finished; both are designed to be continuously updated and open to new additions.
Reflecting ÇEKÜL Foundation’s guiding principle of “Existing with Nature and Culture,” these two projects remind us once again that cultural conservation is not the work of experts alone, but a shared responsibility open to everyone, from local residents to researchers. As we build the future, the way to keep our roots firm runs through sharing knowledge, following the traces and keeping memory alive.
https://rotamiras.org/harita.html
https://www.ortakbellek.org.tr/
Ayşen Kılıç Özarslantürk
ÇEKÜL Information and Documentation Center and Project Coordinator
