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In 1987, as part of its activities in the Cultural Heritage field, the Council of Europe proposed the revitalisation of the Camino de Santiago Pilgrim Ways as the first European Cultural Route. This route was a huge success; number of walkers have been rising steadily since its inauguration, and in the last Holy Year (in 1999), 155,000 people were awarded a certificate for completing the route. Probably many more than that walked parts of the route.
In spite of now having designated over 20 different 'Cultural Routes', the Council of Europe has not found a theme with as much promise as that of the Camino de Santiago; the only one which shows a little promise is the Via Francegina, the pilgrim route from Canterbury in England to Rome. But it's early days yet; most Cultural Routes have only been formed in the last few years.
From 1987, the Institute for European Cultural Routes, a Luxembourg based organisation which works directly under the Council of Europe, established three main objectives for the Cultural Routes programme:
- to make European citizens aware of a real European cultural identity;
- to preserve and enhance the European cultural heritage as a means of improving the surroundings in which people live and as a source of social, economic and cultural development;
- to accord a special place to cultural tourism among European leisure activities.
Currently the list of European Cultural Routes is as follows:
The Santiago de Compostela Pilgrim Routes - a pilgrim route
Via Francigena - a pilgrim route
Rural habitat - an architectual route
The Silk Routes - textile routes
The Baroque Route - an architectual route
The Monastic Influence routes - religious routes
Celtic Routes - migration routes
Mozart Route - musical route
Schickhardt Itineraries - an architectual route
The Viking Routes - migration routes
The Hanseatic Routes - migration routes
Parks and Gardens Route
Writing frontiers, the Pont de l'Europe - literary route
European Cities Discoveries route - an architectual route
Living Arts and European Identity - artistic route
Phoenician Routes - migration routes
The Routes of Humanism - philisophical route
The Wenzel itinerary - literary route
The "Legacy of Al-Andalus" Route - migration route
The Northern Lights route - migration route
Popular festivals and rites in Europe
Gypsy Route - migration route
This list shows that the council tried to be all things to all people, promoting not only genuine physical routes which carried streams of travellers across the continent, but also vague and airy streams of ideas or artistic expression. The result was that in 1998 the council was forced to tighten up the criteria for admitting new routes to its programme.
Now, each theme is developed through a series of projects involving multilateral and multinational co-operation. Project initiators should form networks to increase co-operation and the pooling of experience. To be approved, these networks must obey certain rules.
The acceptance of new initiatives, the approval of networks and the awarding of certification are still the responsibility of the Council of Europe. Links between the Council of Europe and the Institute are provided by an Advisory Committee made up of representatives of various Council of Europe committees. After the Institute has examined a proposal, the Advisory Committee assesses its theme, its suggested initiatives, the progress of the arrangements for its implementation and the work of the networks.
Once initiatives are accepted by the council, then their development is aided by the European Institution of Cultural Routes. The Institute monitors the projects, co-ordinates the networks and provides them with technical assistance, carries out frequent assessments of the networks, examines new proposals, keeps extensive documentation on the programme, runs a database on all aspects of the routes and cultural tourism, and acts as a source of information.
The most successful routes: Santiago de Compostela Pilgrim Routes
"The Santiago de Compostela Routes" are a network of pilgrim walking routes which criss-crosses the whole of Europe, making its way from four major points of assembly in France and merging in the final stretch, the "Camino Francés" (French route), running across northern Spain to Santiago. The Council of Europe, aiming to breathe new life into the routes in several ways, has been pursuing three basic objectives : to identify the routes throughout the whole of Europe, to signpost them with a common emblem, and to co-ordinate a whole cultural co-operation programme together with a variety of partners at national, regional or local level, to form if possible a network. Although they are included amongst the Council of Europe's Cultural Routes, the Santiago de Compostela pilgrim routes are unquestionably a special case. They form a symbolic route mirroring over one thousand years of European history and, at the same time, serving as a model for cultural co-operation in the greater Europe of the future.
Pilgrims walk to Santiago to the grave of St James, discovered in the 9th Century and a place of pilgrimage since then. Now, in order to take pressure from the "Camino Francés", a parallel route, the "Camino de Nord" has also been inaugurated. A network of refuges/pensions (mainly historic buildings) supports the trekkers, and, with an estimated 1800 historical buildings on the route, there is plenty of culture. The paths are so crowded that at times trekkers have to start very early in the morning in order to reach the next refuge and secure a bed before the crowds arrive. One of the main complaints of trekkers is that much of the walking is on road rather than on footpath; but a footpath network would soon crumble under so may feet.
Each 7th year is a "Holy Year"; when the saint's brithday falls on a Sunday; anyone who walks the route is supposed to be freed from his sins. In a normal year, 70,000 pilgrims receive an award for completing the route (there is a system of stamping a card at the refuges); in a holy year (and 2004 is one) that number doubles. This year, the Spanish tourism authority is advertising the route heavily on BBC television; surely numbers will increase again.
The Saint James theme has given rise to other projects : educational activities; live performances; activities related to the protection of the environment; studies and research focusing on the history, literature, architecture or music inspired by these ancient routes; ethnography. These projects are linked together by the routes along which the pilgrims traveled, roads which became military and trade routes over the centuries, frequently developing into the roads of today.
In 1994 on the representation of the Italian Ministry of Tourism, the Council of Europe agreed to promote the theme of the Via Francigena, to complement that of the Pilgrim Way to Santiago de Compostella. The itinerary chosen revived another ancient pilgrim walking route to Rome, which reached its peak in the 13th Century. It follows the route walked by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, England, when he went to Rome in 990 to meet Pope John XV. Work groups were set up by the Ministry of Tourism, and exhibitions and conventions were organised. An important aim was to set up a route for the Jubilee in Rome in the year 2000. In Italy the Via Francigena crosses the road to Santiago, which gives the traveller a chance to change routes.
The "Association Via Francigena", promoted by Mme Adelaide Trezzini, signed a partnership agreement with the Institute four years ago, to study how to establish a continuous route through the different countries and communities involved, and prepare a common information and documentation policy. The Via Francengina is now supported by guide books, conferences, exhibitions and musical events. It has the potential to repeat the success of the Camino de Santiago.
The secret of success of a Cultural Route seems to be not only to provide resources for academic study and cultural development, but to choose a challenging and interesting route to walk. It's here that the European Ramblers Association comes in. The European Ramblers have themselves designated 11 pan-European walking routes, often incorporating sections of national routes. These routes are maintained, documented and mapped, so that long-distance walkers can easily find and walk them.
It's this sort of practical support which makes a route not only possible, but attractive for the millions of trekkers, hikers or walkers who want to spend their holidays exploring Europe on foot. These long-distance trekkers want:
- a strong international cultural theme
- a route on good paths through interesting and attractive countryside
- plenty of local interest in the form of rural architecture, cultural sites, nature parks, places to swim or relax
- a route supported by good mapping and signposting
- the availability of good accommodation and transport
The Camino de Santiago mainly follows the European Ramblers route E1. Similarly the via Francigena in places links with E- routes. It's when the Council of Europe or the executing committees loses sight of these basic necessities that a route can fail to achieve its potential.
Emphatically yes. Firstly, three of the European Ramblers E-routes are intended to start or finish in Turkey - they are:
- E3 Istanbul to Germany then joining up with the Camino de Santiago into France and Spain
- E6 Scandinavia to the Dardanelles. In fact, the E6 route was intended to continue right across Turkey.
- E8 Ireland to Istanbul.
But Turkey has no official or volunteer body which is willing to join with the European organisations and finish the Turkish part of the routes.
Secondly, two of the Cultural Routes intimately concern Turkey, but she has not participated in the European programme:
- After Egypt, Byzantine Asia Minor saw the first flowering of monasticism, yet Turkey hasn't joined the Monastic Routes.
- The Silk Routes have been set up almost without Turkey's knowledge and contribution, yet Turkey was for hundreds of years the terminus of the Chinese silk road.
It's crazy that Turkey hasn't taken advantage of these opportunities to enhance her tourism potential with high-quality cultural offerings.
Turkey, historically, has some of the finest opportunities for new cultural routes:
- Alexander the Great and his armies marched from Greece to Syria and beyond.
- Xenophon marched his 10,000 soldiers from Izmir to Persia and back to the Black Sea via the Euphrates.
- The Selcuk caravan routes are a wonderful network of routes which still exist, together with marvellous caravanserays which could be revived and repaired.
I'm sure that everyone could add their own ideas.
As anyone who has read previous issues of MeeTurkey knows, Turkey has now two world-standard walking routes - the Lycian Way, opened 1999 and the St Paul Trail, which will open in a few weeks. The latter, especially, combines religion and history in a walk through a superb natural environment. It's also capable of being extended, especially to Greece, but also to Syria and Italy, and to include yacht tourism. A glance at the map of St Paul's journeys will give you some ideas.
It's difficult to explain the importance of St Paul to a Muslim audience. Put briefly, without St Paul, Christianity would have been wiped out when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD. It was St Paul who decided to spread the word of Jesus to the Jewish diaspora (who were generally disliked by the conventional Jews of Jerusalem). And, when the diaspora didn't listen, it was St Paul who, at Antioch in Pisidia (present-day Yalvac), preached to the pagans, or Gentiles. If the Gentiles had not listened to St Paul's preaching, there would be no Christianity today.
St Paul also re-interpreted the words of Jesus, to make them more powerful, to emphasise his divinity, to form many of the basic rules of Christianity. He wrote down his beliefs in many letters and sent them to the churches he founded in Asia Minor and Greece. St Paul's journeys and letters form an important part of the Christian Bible. In consequence, there are more books devoted to St Paul's teaching than any other saint. There's evidence that in early Christian times, before the Arab invasions made Asia Minor unsafe for travel, Christians did go on pilgrimage on the routes St Paul walked. Certainly the Crusaders revered his name and the holy churches he had founded.
A European Cultural Route doesn't come for free. To achieve the registration of a Cultural Route, Turkey needs to do some preparatory work. To drive such a project forward requires the co-ordinated hard work of experts in different fields - archaeologists, historians, religious leaders, route-planners, mappers. Because St Paul's route is a Christian route, some of them will have to come from Europe. At least experts from Greece, Italy and Cyprus should be included; the Vatican should be invited to participate. It requires that Turkey starts to create walking maps to a European standard. It also requires the unstinted support of local and national government.
But once Europe has accepted the proposal, there are huge advantages for Turkey. The funds could revitalise poor areas of central Anatolia, allow the restoration of old buildings, protect and develop archaeological sites, revive old arts and crafts and open up forgotten Roman roads. Especially, this will bring a new and better class of visitor to Anatolia, one that is willing to travel slowly and share the local culture.
Now, when the differences between Muslim and Christian are destroying the world, is the time to commit to this project.
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