Art, tradition welcome visitors to İzmir’s UN-designated village

İZMİR

Visitors to Barbaros, a rural neighborhood of İzmir’s Urla district recently included in the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) “Best Tourism Villages” list, are being welcomed through art, tradition and community-led cultural production.

With a history stretching back nearly 700 years, Barbaros has gained growing international attention for its preserved rural identity, traditional agriculture and art. It launched “Oyuk Festival” in 2016, where brightly colored scarecrows —locally known as oyuk — are displayed throughout the village.

The festival has steadily increased visitor numbers and helped transform Barbaros into a year-round destination.

Barbaros neighborhood headman, Barbaros Ersan, said the village first encountered tourism in the late 1970s, when foreign visitors were brought in for cultural nights and folklore performances.

“Village women sold handicrafts by the roadside, and folk dance teams from Dokuz Eylül University performed weekly. This continued until 1998, when the all-inclusive hotel system ended this culture,” Ersan said.

He noted that the village remained largely quiet until the Oyuk Festival revived community life. “We held the first festival in 2016 with around 6,000 visitors. It was organized collectively by villagers, which made it sustainable. Our goal was to revive agriculture, promote the village, create income for residents and encourage reverse migration,” he said.

Ersan added that the village applied to UNESCO-linked programs in 2021 and 2022, gaining recognition in 2024 and officially being designated a certified tourism village on Oct. 17.

“As the village became known, visitor numbers increased, including foreign tourists. This is positive for our village, Urla and İzmir. A tourism village suits Urla,” he said.

Architect and artisan Arzu Kutluay, who runs a handicrafts workshop, said most local businesses are led by women.

“We live intertwined with art. Festivals are lively, with open-air cinema, women’s choir and rhythm workshops, all organized collectively,” she said, adding that social media exposure has boosted interest since the designation.