Preservation and site management strategies in UNESCO world heritage sites: The management plan and environmental design proposal of the Letoon

Letoon, which research began in 1962, is one of the archaeological sites as a place of Outstanding Universal Value in Turkey that has been in the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1988. The site is known for its influence on the Lycian and subsequent Western architecture. In recent years, in order to protect the international significance of the sites, the World Heritage Committee has required preparing five-year management plans for the heritage sites. The site management plan defines a framework for the protection and enhancement of the architectural, archaeological, historical and cultural assets of the site. This thesis focuses on the methodology of the conservation and presentation of the site by gathering and analyzing the necessary data for the management plan of Letoon which had not to have since 1988. In this study, a site boundary is proposed for the Letoon Management Plan proposal and studied in three stages. Conservation, interpretation, presentation and sustainable tourism approach proposals have been introduced for the management area determined on the scale of Letoon Sanctuary and its surroundings. Firstly, protection, presentation, and visitor policies have been developed by providing access to national and international platforms. Secondly, strategies have been defined according to the vision aiming to solve problems of the archaeological site, and existing settlements. Finally, an action plan for site activities has been prepared following decisions about usage and transformation for tourism purposes. In this context, a proposal has been made for the revision of the existing environmental design project of Letoon, and an architectural program has been developed for the old village houses which are re-functioned in the site.