Alkiviadis Prepis

An ICOMOS Technical Evaluation mission to "Ani Cultural Landscape" (Turkey), nominated for inscription on the World Heritage List in 2016, was undertaken from 9 to 14 November 2015.
Ani is located in the northeast of Turkey, 42 km from the city of Kars, on 85 hectares secluded triangular plateau overlooking a ravine that forms the natural border with Armenia. This medieval city that was once one of the cultural and commercial centres on the Silk Road, where it passes into Anatolia from the Caucasus, is characterized by architecture that combines a variety of domestic, religious and military structures, creating a panorama of medieval urbanism built up over the centuries by successive Christian and Muslim dynasties. The Citadel, the medieval settlement with its monuments surrounded by the city walls, and the rock-cut dwellings and monuments outside the city walls have been nominated for inscription.
Criteria under which property is nominated: ii, iii, iv, v

The mission was tasked to review and assess the various documents pertaining to the conservation and management of the World Heritage property, in particular the Conservation Management Plan incorporating an updated Sustainable Tourism Management Plan, the General Development Master Plan and the Detailed Development Plan, and the General Plan for the Organisation of the Traffic in the Ancient City of Nessebar. The mission concludes, that the state of conservation of the property is impacted by a number of negative factors which represent ascertained and potential dangers to the OUV of the property, while the attributes that conveyed the OUV of the property at the time of inscription have deteriorated and, in some respects, eroded beyond recovery. The mission makes a recommendation to the World Heritage Committee that the property fulfils the criteria for inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger, in line with Paragraph 179 of the Operational Guidelines.

L’auteur propose une synthèse des architectures chrétiennes construites dans les Balkans, qu’il structure de manière transnationale afin de mieux surprendre les traits communs. Il retrace leurs histoire à travers deux grandes étapes chronologiques : celle des « résistances, médiations et adaptations, du XVIe au XVIIe siècle, et celle de la « naissance des éclectismes et nouvelles spécificités », aux XVIIIe et XIXe siècles. Au long de ce découpage chronologique, l’article examine l’art chrétien – notamment les églises – en conjonction avec les grands courants artistiques de l’Europe du temps, leur circulation et l’influence exercée.

Architecture and Art in the Balkans During the Ottoman Times - Organized as a national-crossover overview, this study of Christian architectures in the Balkans aims at defining their common features. Their history evolved in two phases: the “resistance, mediations and adaptations” (16th-17th c.), and the “birth of eclectisms and new specificities” (18th-19th c.). The author examines Christian art -most specifically churches – in the light of broad artistic trends in Europe at the same time.

The National Observatory of Athens was founded in 1842. It is the oldest research foundation in Greece, and one of the oldest in Southern Europe. The first building, known as Sinas’ building, was based on a project designed by the Danish architect Theophilus Hansen. The cross-like neoclassic building has its sides oriented toward the four directions of the horizon. There is a small dome for a telescope in the center of the construction. The building was completed in 1846. Theophilos Hansen’s contribution was decisive, because he introduced into the indigenous classicism of its early development the aesthetic atmosphere of the late Central European classicism. One of the first telescopes of the Athens Observatory, known as the "Doridis Telescope", is now 220 years old. It was constructed in 1899 by Paul Ferdinand Gautier. Today the old building serves as a research facility housing the historic library and a museum of historical instruments.

1. The Convention for the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972) was established to recognize “sites of Outstanding Universal Value” which are part of the heritage of humankind, deserving protection and transmission to future generations. Today the List of World Heritage includes 1073 properties forming part of the cultural and natural heritage. The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was adopted in 2003, recognizing the invaluable role of the intangible cultural heritage as a factor in bringing human beings closer together and ensuring exchange and understanding among them.
2. The World Heritage Convention links together in a single document the concepts of nature conservation and the preservation of cultural properties. It constitutes a condition of obligation for preservation not only for the member state but for all the signatories to the World Heritage Convention. Sites inscribed benefit from the elaboration and implementation of a comprehensive management plan that sets out adequate preservation measures and monitoring mechanisms. Experts offer technical training to the local site management team. The inscription brings an increase in public awareness of the site and of its outstanding values, thus tourist activities well planned for and organized respecting sustainable tourism principles, can bring important funds to the site and to the local economy.
3. The future of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, as well as of the Intangible Cultural Heritage will depend heavily on the decisions and actions of the new generation that in the coming years will be the leaders and those who will have a decisive opinion.
4. The ultimate goal of the UNESCO World Heritage Education Programme (1994) is to acquaint the younger generation with the values of the World Heritage, to inspire and strengthen their will to preserve it, and to help bridge the gap between school and society by offering actions to strengthen socialization process of the child. Developed in 1998, the World Heritage in Young Hands Educational Resource Kit for secondary school teachers is one of the main tools of the World Heritage Education Programme. It aims to sensitize young people to the importance of preserving their local, national and world heritage.
The UNESCO Associated Schools Network (ASPnet) links educational institutions across the world around a common goal: to build the defenses of peace in the minds of children and young people. The over 11,500 ASPnet member schools in 182 countries work in support of international understanding, peace, intercultural dialogue, sustainable development and quality education in practice.

Η περιπλάνηση στον κόσμο της δημιουργίας του γλύπτη Ανδρέα Παπαχρίστου (1937-2019), ενός παιδιού της προσφυγιάς του εμφύλιου πολέμου που μεγάλωσε και ανδρώθηκε ως καλλιτέχνης στην Ουγγαρία, εντυπωσιάζει με την πληθώρα των μορφών, τη δύναμη της αφαιρετικής φαντασίας του, τη βαθειά αίσθηση της σχέσης του με την Ελλάδα και τη δυναμική του μοντερνισμού. Η πλούσια συλλογή της Ισιδώρας Πασσαλίδου - ένα ταξίδι μέσα από τη γυναικεία κυρίως μορφή στο μοναχικό κόσμο των συναισθημάτων του καλλιτέχνη - επιτυγχάνει να μας κάνει συνδαιτυμόνες στο προσωπικό του πνευματικό και αισθαντικό συμπόσιο.

The wandering in sculptor’s Andreas Papachristou (1937-2019) creation world - a child of the refugee of the civil war in Greece, who grew up and became an artist in Hungary - impresses with the multitude of forms, the power of his abstract imagination, the deep sense of his relationship with Greece and the dynamics of modernism. The rich collection of Isidora Passalidou - a journey mainly through the female figure in the lonely world of the artist's emotions – succeeds to make us companions in his personal spiritual and sensual symposium.

The policy to eliminate the presence of the "other" and erasing his historical memory repeated with cruelty during the nationalist wars following the collapse of Yugoslavia. Religious monuments of the heterodox - although up until shortly compatriot - became the subject of targeted attacks of destruction, to the extent that they constituted symbols of a different ethnic identity.
The postwar peace policy imposed by the United Nations considered the restoration / reconstruction of religious monuments as a condition sine qua non for the consolidation of peaceful coexistence in the region. Recognition of "cultural diversity" means respecting the contribution of all historical periods, of every culture and religion, including those who are a minority in a country. However, “interpretation” and rehabilitation of historic monuments altered substantially their history.
Today the architectural heritage of the past is not considered a dead remnant to be artificially maintained, but is attempted to be integrated into modern city through a dynamic process, as essential factor of local development and for improving living conditions of residents. The historical monument is considered an important factor in the identity of the local people, which can contribute to the homogenization of multicultural societies and to achievement of social peace.

Taking under consideration the exceptional value and unique religious and cultural significance of the Old City of Jerusalem, as well as that since 1981 the “Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls” are inscribed on the World Heritage List, is worth a discussion on the linkages between the World Heritage Convention and the heritage of Christian religious interest (with special reference to those connected with the image of the “New Jerusalem”): whether doctrinal texts and principles are capable to be applied in practice and in the local context of individual examples, identifying our interest on specific issues, such as: the definition, acceptance and interpretation of associated spiritual values of the past in the modern world, the question about the meaning and the limits of restoration and reconstruction, particularly in relation to the notions of authenticity and integrity, the research of the problems in the field of sustainable development (religious tourism, pilgrimage etc.), and the role of the religious community in the management of the World Heritage property.

The Nineteenth Century Gas-Works in Athens: Conservation, restoration and Re-Use
The old Gas-works of Athens was installed in 1857 by a French company, modeled on those of the great European urban centres, in order to illuminate and modernize the city. Not only are the technical characteristics of the works described in this article (in the four main phases of development between 1862 and 1983, the year in which the gas-works closed) but also the architectural aspects of the various structures. The project of restoration and re-use aims to safeguard the historical identity of the works and at the same time to develop an articulated cultural centre grouping together an industrial and technological museum, ateliers for teaching science and technology and areas for various recreation activities (restaurants, concerts, conferences, art exhibitions and further exhibition space). The new complex should represent the focal point of an industrial zone close to the city centre.
In Bologna, too, research is being conducted on the old gas-works. It is hoped that a model will be constructed with moving parts to represent the most important sectors of the plant (see R. Curti, The Bologna Gas-Works in the Forties and Fifties, p.21).

The book “The Mysterious Face of Ani” is comprised of invaluable texts and photographs, prepared by Vedat Akçayöz, President of the Kars Association of Culture and Arts and member of the Historic City of Ani Advisory Board. It is the product of passion and resolve regarding work that has lovingly been carried out on the field for many long years in order to reveal the mysterious beauties of the region. This book makes a new and holistic contribution to the history of civilization in Eastern Anatolia.