The Importance of Conservation and the Restoration of Historical Gardens as Sustainable Cultural Heritage

Abstract: The concept of cultural heritage can be explained as a set of concrete or abstract works that enable the events that have occurred throughout human history to be transferred to subsequent generations. When these works, which contain different living styles, values, beliefs, and cultures of different periods, are evaluated from an architectural perspective, they generally focus on the constructional buildings and dwellings where that period prevailed. However, many dwellings that contain the lifestyle of the period are surrounded by the environment or gardens that have the lifestyle of the period. These gardens, where a part of the social life of the period continued, bear the traces of the period and are shaped according to the socio-cultural structure. These historical buildings surrounded by gardens are aging over time, their functions are changing, and they need restoration and renovation works in order to survive. At this point, the architectural structure and its surroundings are separated, and while many structures are restored and returned to their former state, unfortunately, the same sensitivity is not shown for the gardens. This situation causes damage, especially for gardens containing living material, and in some cases, even completely changing their function and using them for other purposes. In this study, in addition to the structures considered cultural heritage, the importance of the protection and restoration of their environments, namely their gardens, and their transfer as cultural heritage are discussed through various examples.