Identification of tangible and intangible cultural heritage and evaluation in terms of tourism: The case of İzmir Çiğli district

Established on the plain formed by the Gediz River in the north of the Gulf of Izmir, Çiğli borders Menemen to the north and Karşıyaka to the east. Çiğli has a wide coastal plain and important wetlands. This situation has enabled industrial activities to concentrate in this region and Çiğli to become one of the important districts of Izmir. Towards the end of the 19th century, the region began to receive external migration from the Balkan countries, and in 1966, people who suffered losses in the Muş Varto and Erzurum Hınıs earthquakes were settled in the region. Over the years, the migration of people living in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia to the region has shaped the demographic structure of the district and reve aled its cultural diversity. In Çiğli, which became a district by separating from Karşıyaka in 1992, 8 cultural assets have been registered by the İzmir Number 1 Cultural Heritage Protection Regional Board. Furthermore, there are natural and archaeological sites within the district borders that are protected by national legislation and international agreements. All cultural and natural heritage elements that constitute the main subject of the thesis and the other elements that are important for the district have been categorized and detailed. The values that are subjects to intangible cultural heritage are discussed through the reflections of the elements included in UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in the district. In the study, all cultural, natural, tangible and intangible cultural heritage components examined have been evaluated in terms of cultural tourism and ecotourism in the context of cultural heritage, and it has been determined that Çiğli has important natural and cultural heritage contents to maintain and develop this potential, and it has been concluded that these could contribute to the development of sustainable cultural tourism in Çiğli.