Statements of authenticity and/or integrity
Kemaliye’s residential texture and traditional architecture have preserved its authenticity and integrity largely intact. In Kemaliye district center, 125 examples of traditional architecture, 2 bridges, 2 baths, 13 fountains, 1 madrasah, 2 churches, and 10 mosques have been registered by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism as cultural property. Most of these structures are still standing today. In time, many houses lost their residents due to immigration. This disrupted the necessary maintenance and caused damage to the buildings. To prevent this, residence facades have been covered with metal sheets since the 1950s, and flat roofs have been covered with sloping roofs made by metal sheets. This practice is seen as an intervention that damages the original texture and appearance of the architecture, although it protects houses from the climate factors. Recently, restoration works and street rehabilitations which have been carried out with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism have reduced the presence of metal sheet coverings on the urban texture.
60 restoration works and 7 street rehabilitation works which were done in the city center until 2019 were approved by the Erzurum Regional Council for Conservation of Cultural Properties. The first decision regarding registration of historic buildings was taken in 1988. The settlement was declared as an urban protected area in 2005 and the conservation plan has been in force since 2010. Numerous street rehabilitation, restoration, landscaping projects, reconstruction, simple repair and renovation projects have been implemented in the city center so far. When the robustness of 470 buildings in the city center is examined, it is understood that approximately 80 % of them are in medium condition. Those in good condition account for about 20 % of all. Streets originally paved with small river stones named “rıhtım” have been replaced by concrete pavements. In this context, the biggest deterioration in Kemaliye is in roads and roofs. The originality of houses was spoiled because of the changed window-door proportions. Today, there are approximately 470 buildings in the city center. 125 of these are registered as cultural property. Approximately 300 of the buildings in the city center were built using traditional methods. 170 of them are reinforced concrete structures. Most of these structures are compatible with traditional structures in terms of their mass proportions.
Kemaliye’s unique identity, which is known with its traditional Ottoman/Anatolian urban landscape and its relation with Karanlik (Dark) Canyon formed on the Euphrates River, is protected by National Laws as the majority of the city center was declared as an urban protected area in 2005 and Dark Canyon was registered as a qualified natural protection area in 2020.
