The southeastern Turkish city of Kahramanmaras has been named a UNESCO City of Literature, becoming the first in Türkiye to earn the title, the United Nations cultural agency announced.
The designation was unveiled in Paris during World Cities Day events, adding Kahramanmaras to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) under the literature category.
“Kahramanmaras became the first city from Türkiye to be selected in this field by joining this prestigious network,” Metropolitan Mayor Firat Gorgel said, adding that the city’s deep literary heritage and strong poetic tradition helped secure the honour.
UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay announced 58 new members to the global network, which now includes 408 cities from more than 100 countries. For the first time, the network also introduced a new category – Creative Cities of Architecture – alongside the existing seven fields of crafts and folk art, design, film, gastronomy, literature, media arts and music.
“UNESCO Creative Cities demonstrate that culture and creative industries can be concrete drivers of development,” Azoulay said. “By welcoming 58 new cities, we are strengthening a network where creativity supports local initiatives, attracts investment and promotes social cohesion.”
Other cities named UNESCO Cities of Literature this year include Aberystwyth (Wales), Abuja (Nigeria), Celje (Slovenia), Conakry (Guinea), Dumaguete City (Philippines), Gdansk (Poland), Lund (Sweden), San Luis Potosi (Mexico) and Tangier (Morocco).
The new designations bring the total number of UNESCO Cities of Literature to 63.