Reconsidering “Water” as an Initiator and Transformer of River Landscape Heritage: The Case of the Menderes (Maeander) Delta, Türkiye

Authors

Downloads

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58981/bluepapers.2026.1.07

Published

2026-02-21

Issue

Water & Heritage for Sustainable Development

Section

methodologies and case studies

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Gökhan Okumuş, A. Güliz Bilgin Altınöz, Gerdy A. Verschuure-Stuip

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Reconsidering “Water” as an Initiator and Transformer of River Landscape Heritage: The Case of the Menderes (Maeander) Delta, Türkiye. (2026). Blue Papers, 84-96. https://doi.org/10.58981/bluepapers.2026.1.07

Keywords:

water-related heritage, heritage conservation, water & landscape ensemble, Menderes (Maeander) Delta, landscape biography

Abstract

Historically, the Menderes (Maeander) River has played a crucial role in the development of settlements and cultures, shaping the natural, social, cultural, economic, and governmental dynamics of western Anatolia. Known as the “Valley of Civilizations,” its delta contains water-related heritage, knowledge, and traditions, encompassing agricultural and urban development as well as industrial and technological innovation. Today, the river’s layered landscape reflects a centuries-long history of water management and infrastructure. While the river remains critical to the continuity of life in the region, communities along its course have lost many sociocultural connections and meaningful relationships with water and the river. This article reports on research that aims to restore those connections by using water as a unifying element and catalyst, applying a “landscape biography” approach to promote the holistic and sustainable heritage conservation and management of the Menderes River landscape and its communities.

Author Biographies

  • Gökhan Okumuş, Middle East Technical University

    Gökhan Okumuş is currently working as a research and teaching assistant at Middle East Technical University (METU), Department of Architecture, Graduate Program in Conservation of Cultural Heritage. Okumuş received his master’s degree in 2019 with a thesis entitled “Principles and Strategies for the Conservation and Management of Complex Multi-Layered Cultural Landscapes: The Case of Gölyazı (Apolyont) / Bursa” under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Güliz Bilgin Altınöz. His research interests include the conservation and management of natural and cultural heritage sites, multi-layered cultural landscapes, water and riverine landscapes and heritage, heritage information management and geographic information systems, urban morphology, design in historic environments, and the conservation of modern heritage, on which he has conducted various national and international studies and publications. Okumuş is currently pursuing his Ph.D. studies under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Güliz Bilgin Altınöz (METU) and Gerdy Verschuure-Stuip (TU Delft).

  • A. Güliz Bilgin Altınöz, Middle East Technical University

    A. Güliz Bilgin Altınöz is a conservation architect and professor at METU Department of Architecture. She is the Director of the METU Centre of Research and Assessment of Historical Environments [TAÇDAM] and METU Archaeology Museum; and a member of the ICOMOS-Turkiye Executive Board and Expertise Committee on Tangible Cultural Heritage of the Turkish National Commission for UNESCO. Her main interest areas are theory and criticism in heritage studies; conservation, management, and planning of heritage places; multi-layered towns and urban archaeology; heritage information management and decision support systems; heritage risk assessment and adaptation to climate change. She supervised thesis, conducted and participated in national and international projects, and published articles and book chapters on these subjects.

  • Gerdy A. Verschuure-Stuip, Delft University of Technology

    Gerdy A.Verschuure-Stuip is an assistant professor in landscape architecture and heritage at Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. She is the research leader of the LDE Centre of Global Heritage and Development and is involved as a project leader and/or research in various national and international research projects. Her research focuses on landscape, heritage, landscape biography and participation, and community engaged education. She is the Education manager for the Department of Urbanism at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment and teaches in the bachelor and in the master tracks and graduation labs of Landscape architecture and Urbanism in Delft as well as in the Master Applied Archaeology Leiden University. 

References

Başgelen, Nezih. 2010. Türkiyenin Tarihi Coğrafyası - Akarsular 3b [Historical geography of turkey – river 3b]. Arkeoloji ve Sanat Yayınları.

Brückner, Helmut, Alexander Herda, Michael Kerschner, Marc Müllenhoff and Friederike Stock. 2017. “Life Cycle of Estuarine Islands: From the Formation to the Landlocking of Former Islands in the Environs of Miletos and Ephesos in Western Asia Minor (Turkey).” Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 12 (April): 876–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.11.02.

Yaşayan Nehirler Yaşayan Ege Projesi. 2012. Büyük Menderes Basin Atlas. S Basım Sanayi ve Ticaret Ltd.

Göney, Süha. 1975. Büyük Menderes Bölgesi [Büyük Menderes region]. İstanbul University, Institute of Geography.

Hein, Carola, Henk Van Schaik, Diederik Six, Tino Mager, Jan Kolen, Maurits Ertsen, Steffen Nijhuis and Gerdy Verschuure-Stuip. 2020. “Introduction: Connecting Water and Heritage for the Future.” Adaptive Strategies for Water Heritage: Past, Present and Future, edited by Carola Hein, 1-18. Springer.

Kolen, Jan, and Johannes Renes. 2015. “Landscape Biographies: Key Issues.” In Landscape Biographies: Geographical, Historical and Archaeological Perspectives on the Production and Transmission of Landscapes, edited by Jan Kolen, Hans Renes and Rita Hermans, 21–48. Amsterdam University Press.