On the 13th of April this year nine cultural and one natural heritage sites from Turkey were inscribed into the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List. This way the total number of Turkish sites awaiting the inclusion onto the permanent list increased to 62. Currently, there are only 13 properties inscribed on the World Heritage List in Turkey, but Turkish authorities hope that this number will increase in the near future.

The recently inscribed sites are:

• Akdamar Church. The Church of the Holy Cross is located on Akdamar Island in Lake Van, in Van province. The Church was built between 915 and 921 AD by Architect Bishop Manuel, under the supervision of Gagik I Ardzruni, an Armenian King who reigned over the Kingdom of Vaspurakan as a vassal under the Abbasids.
• The Theatre and Aqueducts of the Ancient City of Aspendos. The site of Aspendos in Antalya province houses one of the best preserved ancient theatres of the world. At the same time Aspendos aqueducts, with their two unique siphons, have been a source of extreme fascination for researchers.
• Eshab-ı Kehf Kulliye (Islamic-Ottoman Social Complex). The Cave and Külliye of the Seven Sleepers in Afsin is located on Bencilus Hill approximately 7 km away from the center, in Kahramanmaraş province. From the middle of the 5th century AD, on this place which is meeting point for different religions and civilizations with a church, barracks, guesthouse, ribat, mosque, inn and Buk’a which were built during Byzantine,Seljuk, Dulkadirli and Ottoman Eras, each civilization has shown a favor to this unique place within their beliefs, and has revived this sacred space by adding their own structures.
• Historic Guild Town of Mudurnu. The settlement of Mudurnu, Bolu province, was founded along a deep, narrow valley formed by the Mudurnu (Gallos) River, in a region rich with pine forests and thermal springs. The dense linear settlement, lying along the rocky Mudurnu River valley, forms a harmonious ensemble of natural topography and urban fabric, creating a dramatic historic urban landscape.
• Mount Harşena and the rock-tombs of the Pontic Kings. Amasya is located in the north of Anatolia, in the inner part of the Middle Black Sea Region, at the junction point of the roads which connect Black Sea Coast to the rest of Anatolia. It has been inhabited uninterruptedly for more than five thousand years by many civilizations since the Early Bronze Age, it consists of cultural properties such as Amasya Fortress, the Middle Fortress, the Inner Forteress, the rock-tombs of the Pontic Kings, monumental cisterns opened in the 1st century BCE and Yalıboyu Houses (Riverside Houses) besides offering a unique and enchanting landscape together with Yeşilırmak River and its valley.
• Mountainous Phrygia. Phrygia developed as a “world state” in the 8th century B.C. and dominated Central Anatolia from Mediterranean at south to Black Sea at north, from Aegean coast at west till the cities of Yozgat and Sivas at east, while the capital was Gordion, which is near to Polatli District of Ankara. Tumulus, the tomb structures built mainly between the 8th and 6th centuries B.C., is firstly seen in Anatolia in the Phrygian period. It’s probably due to that they retained their burial tradition after migration to Anatolia. The Midas Tumulus in Gordion is the most remarkable example of this type of architecture, while other 80 dating from the 10th B.C. and 1st B.C. are scattered around.
• Ancient City of Stratonikeia. Stratonikeia is located in the borders of the Village of Eskihisar, 7 kilometers west of the district of Yatağan in the province of Muğla. It has been inhabited continuously from the Late Bronze Age (1500 BC) to the present day and is one of the most important city-states in inner Caria.
• The Bridge of Uzunköprü. Uzunköprü (Long Bridge), located approximately 60 km south from the modern city center of Edirne, was built on one of the most challenging passages of Ergene River (in antiquity: Agrianes/Erginus or Riga). The bridge constructed by the Architect Muslihiddin between 1427 and 1443 during the reign of the sixth Ottoman Padishah Sultan Murad II along with the epitaph on the bridge is featured to be the longest stone bridge on earth surviving to date with 1392 m length, 174 arches and 6.10 m width.
• Ismail Fakirullah Tomb and its Light Refraction Mechanism. Ismail Fakirullah Tomb and the other two structures associated with the Light Refraction Mechanism are located within the district of Aydınlar (Tillo), Siirt province. The Ismail Fakirullah Tomb and the other two structures associated with the tomb and its light refraction mechanism is significant for its light refraction mechanism and the Sufi belief which is disguised within this mechanism.
• Yıldız Palace Complex. Located in Istanbul, on top of a steep hill overlooking the Bosphorus, the Yıldız Palace (meaning the Star Palace) was the seat of Ottoman government and the residence of Sultan Abdülhamid II for 33 years (1876-1909). The property is a vast complex of pavilions and gardens surrounding the courtyards and designed in different styles.