REINTRODUCING HISTORICAL and CULTURAL LANDSCAPE VALUES in RIZE CITY CENTER to THE CITY and CREATING a CULTURAL ROUTE

Abstract

Tangible and intangible cultural heritage values are very important in reflecting the urban identity and in city-tourism relations. The written history of the city of Rize, which was established on a very steep land between the Kaçkar Mountains and the Black Sea, dates back to B.C. 8 and the city is an important trade center that has hosted many civilizations. Although the city has hosted many different civilizations, it cannot successfully reflect the culture of those times. With rapid urbanization and increasing population, cultural heritage elements have disappeared over time and the existing concrete cultural heritage has faced the danger of extinction. Within the scope of this study, it is aimed to bring the buildings and places with a cultural heritage value in the city center of Rize to the city within the scope of cultural heritage tourism route by evaluating their current situation and potential. As a result of documents taken from Rize Municipality, aerial photographs, literature research and observations made in the field, analyses were made regarding the location and value of cultural assets with a heritage value in the city center. As a result, a cultural route was developed to ensure the protection and appropriate use of irreplaceable cultural resources in order to maximize the long-term benefits of cultural heritage assets and heritage tourism in the city center of Rize.