Inventory and Mapping of Industrial Heritage in Küçük Menderes Rural Area
Project no. 30839 · Status: Kapanmış · 2023
Summary
<p>After World War II, industrial areas dating back to the 19th and early 20th centuries remained in the center of large cities in rapidly growing cities in Europe. These industrial areas often remained idle because they could not meet renewed needs. These areas are addressed in international literature under the subjects of “abandoned industrial area” (brownfield), “industrial heritage” and “industrial archaeology”. Since the 1970s, intense interest and initiatives regarding the protection and re-evaluation of industrial heritage have also been seen in European countries. The economic change that gained great momentum in the second half of the 20th century affected rural areas as well as cities in the world and in our country. During this period, the population in rural areas decreased, production activities slowed down and village life shifted towards large centers. In these regions where the population decreased during this process, the needs tended to be met from the city and thus traditional production methods began to be abandoned. However, since the rural area in question contains the most unique layers of the cultural identity of the society, villages are an inseparable part of the national protection policy.</p><p>This study was conducted in the villages of the Küçük Menderes valley. In ancient times, the road connecting the two important metropolises of the period, Ephesus and Sart, passed through this region and remained a very busy route for centuries. In addition to meeting their own needs, the settlements of the Küçük Menderes basin, due to their location not far from important ports, carried out production for commercial purposes throughout history and continued to feed large cities with their products. For this reason, towns and villages producing raw and manufactured materials also have an ancient know-how. While production technology developed and changed in the historical process, production areas, tools and technology in the countryside, where some practices remained unchanged for a long time, preserved their existence almost until the mid-20th century. Especially the rural areas of Tire, Birgi and Ödemiş, where historically important settlements are located, contain important findings for the research phase of the project. Looking at the maps, it can be seen that the industrial heritage in question is concentrated in the districts that are the subject of the project. Although some examples of the past olive oil workshops and factories, pottery looms and workshops, weaving looms, mills and Ottoman-era industry, which can be described as rural industrial heritage, have lost their functions today, preserving the rural industrial heritage and introducing it to tourism will make the historical and cultural richness of the region more discoverable.</p>