EVALUATION OF THE EFFECT OF CASTLES ON URBAN LANDSCAPE IN TERMS OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

Abstract

Historical urban areas play an important role in preserving cultural memory and reflecting the identity of the city, transferring the social, cultural and spatial dynamics of the past periods to the present. Especially castles have been decisive as strategic and spatial focal elements in the establishment of cities throughout history. In this context, the preservation of cultural heritage requires considering not only the physical structure but also the integrity of the structure with its cultural environment and the sustainability of the landscape. In this study, the spatial effects of "Castles" in the urban area, their importance as living monuments of history were revealed and their sustainable use was evaluated in terms of landscape architecture, taking into account today's needs. In this context, Çanakkale Çimenlik Castle and Kilitbahir Castle were determined as the main material of the study. These castles have been compared to Edinburgh Castle (Scotland) and Fort St. Elmo / Valletta Castle (Malta), which set international examples and were opened for use with intensive conservation principles. The selected castles were found important in terms of their relationship with the natural geography and their use with intensive conservation principles. In the study, comparative evaluations were made and it was aimed to protect the resources of the study areas and to use them sustainably. The locations, importance and relations of the determined castles with the urban texture were found suitable for comparative evaluation and analyzed with a table. As a result of the study, the potentials and challenges of Çimenlik and Kilitbahir castles in Turkey in terms of sustainable use were discussed by taking these international examples as a reference.