A Sustainable Cultural Heritage in Gaziantep, the Silk Road city in Anatolia: The Historical Texture of Gümrük Avenue

Abstract

Gümrük Avenue, in the historical texture of ?ekero?lu Neighborhood, Gaziantep, is an important cultural heritage element with historic role in the commercial and cultural life. The first texture formation started with the Gaziantep Castle during the Roman period (30 BC - 395 AD) and then the Byzantine, Islamic, Seljuk, Emirates-Memlük, Ottoman and Republican periods. It did not develop during the Islamic and Seljuk periods, yet experienced the most important formation and development during the Ottomans where buildings such as mosques, baths, bedesten, and inns put historic marks on the texture. The Republican period differentiated traditional style with commercial multi-storey reinforced concrete buildings and completed the texture formation. Through qualitative method based on literature review and fieldwork, this study aims to examine and document the formations reflecting the cultural, social and economic evolution of different historical periods since the emergence of Gümrük Avenue in the historical texture of Gaziantep, one of the important cities of the historical Anatolian Silk Road, and reveal the position of the avenue in shaping the historical identity of the city. In the absence of previous studies, it is considered as significant, which will shed light on future studies on the relevant topic.

Keywords: Gaziantep, historical environment, historical texture, ?ekero?lu neighbourhood, Gümrük Avenue