Journey through time and space
Last month, all of Europe’s cultural routes converged in Cappadocia. From Oct. 22 to 24, Cappadocia hosted the Council of Europe’s Cultural Routes Annual Advisory Forum, organized in collaboration with the Culture and Tourism Ministry and the Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA). The Forum is a key activity of a program titled “Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe” which aims to promote the Council’s principles, underlying values such as human rights, cultural democracy, cultural diversity, mutual understanding and cultural exchange across boundaries. The concept of Cultural Routes, in a way, can be defined as a journey through time and space.
The Forum addresses current trends and challenges related to Cultural Routes, offering a platform for sharing experiences and reviews the program’s progress. It also discusses emerging professional practices and supports the launch of new initiatives and partnerships. The meeting was exciting and stimulating, with fascinating, inspiring projects presented, all of which aimed to build bridges between the past and the future. With the ever-accelerating pace of contemporary life, safeguarding the living cultural heritage for the future poses a significant challenge. The Forum’s objective is to explore strategies for achieving sustainable tourism through the cultural routes network that benefit local communities, who are the rightful owners of cultural landscapes.
Diverse routes with diverse themes
The Cultural Routes program was first launched in 1987 with the famous Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route. Also known as the Way of St James, the network of several routes extends from different countries of Europe and North Africa, leading to Santiago de Compostela and Finisterre. The French Way and the Northern Spain Way are also inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Building on this initial success, the Council of Europe has gradually implemented a certification scheme for routes of cultural, social or historical interest, with the aim of fostering closer ties between European cultures and peoples. The core aim of the program is to create cultural bridges across borders based on a single theme. The themes vary widely, encompassing unexpected countries. The Viking Route, one of the earliest routes, covers a total of 15 countries beyond Scandinavia. Some routes, such as the Ceramic Route, extend as far as Türkiye, culminating in the Çanakkale ceramics, which were first introduced to the world literature by my late mother, Prof. Gönül Öney. While some routes are only confined within the borders of Türkiye, they always share common ground with their European counterparts. The Efeler Yolu in the Aegean is a particularly unique route. Inspired by Efe culture, the route encompasses trekking, cultural heritage, assets of nature and environment, as well as gastronomy, with all its local products and cuisine. It is linked in meaning to the “Transhumance Trails & Rural Roads” project, translated into Turkish as “Yaylacılık Patikaları” (Transhumance Trails).
Food is key to many routes
Every traveler eats at some point. Food is one of the most fundamental elements of travel. It is one of the many memories of a journey, sometimes as the provisions the traveler carries, sometimes as a new flavor encountered along the way. Sometimes, the taste of a bowl of soup at an inn is the warmest memory remaining from a tough voyage. Today, one of the primary sources consulted in food history research is the flavors, tastes and newly encountered foods described by travelers’ accounts. The notes they kept about what they ate and drank can be an invaluable source of knowledge for food history studies. Indeed, the sections that capture our interest most, in the 17th-century Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi’s Travelogue, are always about food. During the Forum, one of the most exciting news was about a new route to be launched in the near future; a brand-new Evliya Çelebi Route is coming, now under progress. Evliya was a very good storyteller, and he clearly enjoyed his food. We hope the route will also include the amazingly detailed information on the foodways of all the places he visited, with plenty of food stories. The food themes are diverse. While not part of European projects, Türkiye has its own routes focusing solely on a single product, such as the Olive Route and the Tea Route.
Vineyard landscapes and Iter Vitis
Viticulture, wine-making culture and vineyard landscapes are important aspects of European and Mediterranean food culture. Iter Vitis, a major route in the program, is solely focused on viticulture. Vineyard route networks are increasingly growing in Türkiye. The newest additions are the Lydia Vineyard Route and the Çal Vineyard Route in the Aegean region. Together with the previously established Urla Vineyard Route, it is now possible to spend several days exploring the vineyard culture and grapes across a wide Aegean geography stretching from north to south and from the coast to inland areas. While some of the vineyard routes are not yet included in the Iter Vitis network, it is only a matter of time before the Turkish wine routes are attached to their European counterparts. Needless to say, all of these Anatolian routes are enriched by the addition of local tastes such as olives, artichokes, foraged herbs and regional cheeses. History is an important reference point for the routes. Beyond the writings of travelers, there are archaeological sites. For example, Kilis Kızılgöl Vineyard, a member of Iter Vitis, takes its reference from Oylum Höyük near the Syrian border, a major Late Bronze Age settlement, known for its strategic importance during the Hittite Empire. On the other hand, gastronomic references pop up in archaeological routes. Each of the ancient cities on the Ionia route is labeled with its most important features. The city of Klazomenai in Urla has earned its place on the map with the oldest known olive oil press. In a rich geography like Türkiye, archaeology, living cultural heritage, natural environment and gastronomic values are intertwined, and cultural routes contain a diversity that grows layer by layer.
Cultural Routes are essentially a journey through time and space. They are a tool for understanding both our own cultural identity and for learning about other cultures by tracing the traces of the past. Following a route is an adventure in which we leave traces for the future by tracing the paths left to us from the past. In a sense, a cultural route is a bridge between the past and the future. In a way, following a route is creating our own legacy for the next generations.
