Tuba AKAR

Keywords: General Directorate of Pious Foundations,vakıf institution,vakıf cultural property,conservation,repair

Abstract

Vakıfs, founded by individuals for religious and charity purposes, were the main institution in the construction and conservation of the built environment in the Ottoman period till 19th century. With the westernization movements in the Tanzimat era, vakıfs were gathered under a central institution called Evkaf Nezareti. In the Republican period, the General Directorate of Pious Foundations took this centralized institutional structure as it was and since then it has been the heir of the vakıf institution and vakıf cultural heritage in Turkey. This paper aims to determine the conservation policies of the General Directorate of Pious Foundations towards the conservation of vakıf cultural properties. With this aim, the paper focuses on the institution's legal and financial attitudes and administrative structure towards the conservation and conservation policies that it has executed since the Republican period.