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  • Traditional Turkish Archery

  • Traditional Turkish Archery

    Traditional Turkish archery includes all principles, rituals, social and craftsmanship practices including traditional equipment, archery disciplines and shooting techniques that have evolved over the centuries from the Ottoman era until today. Traditional Turkish archery is practiced on foot and on horseback, and practitioners train individually or in groups to improve their skills and performance, perform individual shootings, and participate in competitions and festive events.
    The manufacture of traditional archery equipment is a major component of this cultural element, and includes equipment made from raw materials such as trees that grow in certain climatic conditions at high altitudes, organic glues, horns, tendons, silk, and leather. Therefore, craftsmen must have an advanced knowledge of nature, including plants, animals, and climate.
    Archery equipment is also decorated with calligraphy, ornaments, and marquetry. The craftsmen involved in the manufacture of traditional shooting equipment play the most important role in protecting the element and ensuring its continuity, as the relevant skills are transferred from the master to the apprentice or through self-learning.
    Traditional Turkish Archery was inscribed in 2019 on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in Turkey.
    Intangible Heritage
    by Gryffindor, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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    Traditional Turkish Archery

    Date of Inscription

    2019