KORAMAZ, THE LOST VALLEY OF KAYSERI, HAS SOMETHING TO TELL YOU!

I am Koramaz Valley; I cannot tell you exactly when I was formed, but you can guess that I am a formation of an earthquake fault line because of the fault line that runs near me. As you walk along my narrow, tree-covered paths, where you can't even see the sky when you look up, you will see traces of Rome, Byzantium, the Anatolian Beyliks, the Ottomans, and finally, the Republic of Turkey—traces of yourselves. Those who came before you, just like you, drank from my water, ate the fruit from my trees, and lived in my caves. If you climb towards Ağırnas, you will even see traces of Mimar Sinan. Sinan rode his horse along my narrow paths until his twenties, drank from my cool waters, and gazed at Mount Erciyes from my plateaus on warm summer evenings. I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said I inspired Sinan. Don't forget Kültepe, located at my western exit, which was the center of the trade colonies of the Assyrians thousands of years ago. Don't think for a moment that the people living in Kültepe at that time didn't benefit from me, Koramaz, who possessed numerous freshwater sources, hundreds of trees, and sheltered caves. Therefore, " Our unity with you, the people, goes back thousands of years ." Indeed, as you wander along the peaceful paths that pass through my heart, you both feel this millennia-old history and see it in my caves, carved by ox cart wheels, in the monumental structures of which only the foundations remain, and in my churches adorned with dazzling paints.

But you have forgotten about me. When you do your research, you will notice that the name of Koramaz Valley has started to come up frequently in the last two years. Before that, my name was rarely encountered. So what happened that I suddenly became so important? What changed that I started to attract people's attention?

To make the matter clearer, let's go back in time. The oldest written document you can find that mentions the name Koramaz dates back to the Ottoman period. My name, Koramaz, was the name of a nahiye (subdistrict) in the Ottoman era, meaning a higher administrative unit with villages under its jurisdiction. The source of this name was that all the villages belonging to the Koramaz nahiye were located at the foot of the same mountain, which was called Koramaz Mountain, as it is today. So, the origin of my name actually comes from Koramaz Mountain, which rises immediately to my east. The name Koramaz Valley, which is specific to me, was first mentioned jointly by Mehmet Osmanbaşoğlu, who was the mayor of Ağırnas Municipality at the time, and the researcher and writer Hüseyin Cömert. Moreover, Hüseyin Cömert also wrote a book titled Koramaz Valley, published in 2008 with the support of Ağırnas Municipality. This book is the first book to address me as a whole and contains important information about me based on historical documents. Despite this book being published in 2008, I did not receive the attention I deserved at the time. Until 2018, very few of you knew my name; I was utterly alone, except for the loyal friends who occasionally joined me for walks. But my fate began to change suddenly in 2018, and today I'm on the lips of many of the city's administrators. Am I happy about this? Yes, of course I am. This situation is thanks to my inclusion in the UNESCO World Tentative Heritage List. Despite a book being written about me in 2008, why couldn't I get on the UNESCO list for 10 years? Why couldn't I gain the recognition I deserved in people's minds?

I am an unfortunate valley; interestingly, even the people living within it couldn't perceive me as a whole for years. The seven villages within it treated me as seven separate pieces, never considering for years that these seven pieces could form a whole. For the people of Ağırnas, I was Ağırnas Valley or Akbin Valley, while for the people of Turan, I was always Turan Valley. I don't blame you, because unless you look at my twelve-kilometer-long arms from above, it's impossible to see me as a whole. This is precisely the change that occurred in 2018: you began to look at me with a holistic perspective. Of course, that's not all that changed; from 2018 onwards, you began to systematically analyze the natural and cultural inventory within me, a small part of which you are witnessing today. That is, you began to explore me step by step, inch by inch, compiling an inventory of my natural and cultural heritage. My mosques, fountains, oil presses, churches, columbariums… were all individually recorded and presented to the city as a collective inventory. Experts, officials, and even people who have lived in my heart for many years, upon seeing the vast inventory, began to look at me with admiration and, in fact, began to understand that Koramaz, that is, me, is " Kayseri's Lost Valley ."

Finally, I've started to receive the attention I deserve and have been included in the UNESCO World Tentative Heritage List. This painting has confirmed that I am truly of immense value, but being on this list doesn't provide me with any benefit beyond attracting human attention. I have very serious problems, and these problems require the collective intervention of the entire community, not just local governments and relevant directorates. I am running out of steam! Yes, you heard right, if you don't protect me, I will soon disappear. I beg for your help, hear me! I can finally make my voice heard, please read the problems I have listed below and help me:

I am drying up! The waters flowing through my veins are receding one by one. The cool, sweet waters that seep through my rocks are diminishing. The Koramaz Stream, which flows right through me and is nourished by these waters, is drying up. My trees and vineyards, which are nourished by these waters, are withering, my animals are dying. As you walk through my heart, look around carefully; you will see the withered trees and vineyards abandoned due to thirst. The source of my waters is Koramaz Mountain, located just to my east. I know you have been operating large quarries on this mountain lately. Could these quarries be having an effect on the decrease in my water? Please investigate, help me. I also hear that you are conducting new mining explorations. If you find minerals and open new mines, what will happen to me? Don't you ever think about me?

As you ascend from my depths, you will see my seemingly endless plateaus. You operate quarries on these plateaus, and not just recently, but for thousands of years you have been extracting stone from here using the same tradition. Of course you will do so; you will earn your living from stone if necessary, I have no objection to that. However, do you have to extract stone right at the point where life and cultural heritage begin? Do you know that the vibrations from your heavy machinery while cutting the stones are destroying my caves? Some of the stones you cut are rolling into my heart, harming me; did you know this? Is it so difficult to do the same work a little further away?

I've been alongside you humans for thousands of years, but this is the first time a sewage line is running right through my heart. I don't object to that; I'm a large valley, I can tolerate that. But during heavy rains, the line you built gets clogged, and all the dirty water flowing through it mixes with my stream, where water turtles live. And as I told you, my water is running low; on top of all these problems, your sewage line is sucking up the water flowing in my stream, further reducing my already dwindling water supply. Come and see for yourselves at the end of summer when the rains have decreased; you will see that my stream has dried up. So what will happen to my innocent water turtles?

As I told you, we have been together for thousands of years. As a result of this togetherness, you have shaped my rocks, built caves, excavated underground cities, and constructed rock churches, many of which were built by the Byzantines. This cultural heritage, built by those who came before you, is constantly being plundered by malicious people living among you, whom you call treasure hunters. Every day they dig up a part of me, destroy my caves, and vandalize the unique paintings in my churches. Remember that I, as a whole, am more valuable than gold; do not harm me!

I'm more popular now; you've started to love me even more since I was included in the UNESCO list. As a result, you're trying to possess me. First of all, let me say that for thousands of years I've witnessed thousands of people like you wanting to possess me. Don't worry, you can't; I'm the common property of you all. Your desire to possess me individually stems entirely from your instincts and leads you to a futile endeavor. Please don't damage my natural heritage and build houses right in the middle of my heart. I am a natural valley; accept me as I am. Bring your tent, let's sleep together, but please don't pollute me with concrete.

As I just explained, you built a sewage line, and yes, while building that line, you also constructed a road on top of it. This road didn't exist before; for thousands of years, people traveled along narrow paths on my slopes, but you built a road right through my heart, and not just one road, come and see other roads that have been opened up. All kinds of vehicles, including trucks, pass on these roads, blowing smoke into my lungs every time, shaking my caves, and frightening my birds. Please, don't crush me with your motor vehicles for your own pleasure!

I love trees very much; I've had a wide variety of trees for thousands of years. Their descendants are still within me today. Among my favorites are my walnut trees, some of which are now three hundred years old. And I must mention the hazelnut trees in the region that your predecessors called Dimitre and you call Turan; I love them very much too. But you are cutting down my trees, burning my precious offspring one by one, making furniture out of them. You have divided every part of me among yourselves, and you don't allow anyone who wants to plant new trees to do so. So what will become of me then?

I tell you these things with hope, but at the same time I feel sad. I hope that being on the UNESCO list will benefit me as much as it benefits you. I have problems, and you are the only authority that can help me and solve them. If you want your children and grandchildren to walk the same paths you walk today, freely amidst the birdsong and breathing in plenty of oxygen, I ask you to listen to me.

Bilgin Summer Residence / June 26, 2020