Contribute — Map Documentation

Your eyes
on the ground

Every photograph you take, every building you note, every GPS pin you drop extends the reach of documentation beyond what any single team can achieve. The map grows from collective observation. Here is how to contribute.

What to Document

The map prioritises structures that are historic, unregistered and potentially at risk. Official monuments and well-known sites are already documented elsewhere. The gap is in ordinary historic buildings — the Ottoman stone house in a back street, the early Republican school with a leaking roof, the Seljuk caravanserai whose courtyard is being used as a car park.

  • Pre-1950 residential buildings showing signs of neglect or planned demolition
  • Historic commercial buildings — han, hamam, bedesten — in non-tourist areas
  • Seljuk or earlier structures partially incorporated into later buildings
  • Inscriptions, architectural fragments, displaced stonework
  • Sites where demolition or construction is actively under way

Documentation Method

Even a smartphone can produce usable documentation. For each structure, try to collect:

  • Photographs: All four facades, entrance, any visible historic detail (carved stone, timber joinery, tile), current condition
  • GPS location: A single point coordinate from your phone is sufficient — Google Maps "share location" works
  • Rough date estimate: Obvious Ottoman / early Republican / unclear — do not guess if uncertain
  • Current use / condition: Occupied, vacant, deteriorating, active demolition
  • Street address or nearest intersection

Minimum time

10 min

Per building

Equipment needed

Phone

Nothing else required

Skills required

None

Anyone can contribute

Submit Your Findings

Send photographs, GPS coordinates and notes to the address below. Files can be in any format — JPG, PDF, a shared Google Drive folder. Include your name and the date of the survey.

harita@hayalimdekiantalya.org

All verified submissions are added to the tracker map within 2–3 weeks. You will be credited as the contributor on the map entry unless you prefer to remain anonymous.

Urgent Reports

If you witness an active demolition of a potentially historic building, document it immediately and send to the urgent line below. Include the exact address, photographs and the date and time. In urgent cases we can contact the Regional Board for Conservation of Cultural Heritage (Kültür Varlıklarını Koruma Bölge Kurulu) directly.

acil@hayalimdekiantalya.org

In Turkey, a demolition permit can be obtained and executed within days. Documentation that takes ten minutes now can form the basis of a legal challenge that preserves a building for decades.

Ready to document?

Send Documentation