What is the mission of
The BoÄŸsak Center for Archaeology and Heritage?
The preservation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage and the transfer of cultural knowledge have become increasingly difficult in the fast-changing global world. In particular, the traditions and social memory in the rural countryside are getting extinct. For this reason, we aimed to create a rural center that will facilitate the transmission of cultural heritage knowledge between generations.
HOW WAS THE CENTER FOUNDED?
BoÄŸsak and its environs are largely unknown despite the richness of its natural environment and historical remains. Furthermore, the absence of a space functioning as a gathering venue is striking. Young generations that moved from the village to towns or those who do not move to the uplands during summertime with the elderly have no opportunity to learn about the tangible and intangible heritage of their homeland. Local traditions, stories, rhymes, memories, etc. are neither recorded nor transmitted to the younger generations. As a result intangible heritage dies out with the elderly.
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The BoÄŸsak Archaeological Survey under the auspices of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University consists of academics, researchers, and students. Since 2010, this team works on the documentation and preservation of the cultural heritage in and around BoÄŸsak. The team had the opportunity to observe in person the problems and deficiencies in the management of cultural heritage. The interviews conducted with the inhabitants and the 5-7 weeks long campaigns every year, convinced us that the most fundamental need is a space that will enable the promotion and the sustainable preservation of cultural heritage knowledge.
BoÄŸsak Center's location in the BoÄŸsak Village
BoÄŸsak Center and its living quarters
Young generations are not familiar with the environment and heritage in which they live. The BoÄŸsak Center for Archaeology and Heritage is an initiative that aims to answer the need for a connective space. Through social, academic, and artistic events and exhibitions, it aims to promote the rich cultural heritage of the region not only to the local inhabitants but also to
visitors from Turkey and abroad. The BoÄŸsak Center has also the potential to strengthen the bond within the local population by bringing together people of different ages, backgrounds, and lifestyles. To this end, a memorandum signed in 2018 between the Silifke District Directorate of National Education and Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University transferred the former elementary school and associated buildings to the university to be repurposed as the BoÄŸsak Center for Archaeology and Heritage.
