İznik, a city known for its open-air museum qualities and rich cultural history, has joined the international Cittaslow network. The network, established in 1999, promotes a philosophy of slow living as a response to the fast pace and consumption-driven nature of modern urban life.
The term “Cittaslow” combines the Italian word for city, “citta,” with “slow.” The association encourages cities to adopt practices that foster calmness and enjoyment of life. Membership requires cities to demonstrate self-sufficiency and maintain a slower pace while supporting agriculture, tourism, hospitality, and social cohesion.
Cities from across Türkiye’s Aegean, Black Sea, and Southeastern Anatolia regions are already part of this global network spanning 30 countries. İznik is the latest Turkish town to be recognized as a Cittaslow member.
“One of the few open-air museum cities in the world, İznik has stood out with its cultural, historical, and touristic values. And now, it is also included in Cittaslow, the slow city network.”
“This new concept, which was created by merging the words ‘citta’ (city) from Italian and ‘slow’, has actually been in our lives for a long time. This is an international municipal association that has been operating since 1999. The concept of cittaslow is based on a philosophy of slow living. With urbanization, our lives have become too fast-paced and based too much on consumption. And cittaslow is a worldview based on living more calmly and enjoying life.”
“In addition to characteristics such as agriculture and tourism, hospitality and social cohesion are also required. So a city that is both self-sufficient and maintains the pace of slow life can be categorized as a quiet city. Today, Turkish cities from regions such as the Aegean, Black Sea, and Southeastern Anatolia have taken their place among Cittaslow towns, which include cities from 30 countries. The last town to make it to the list from Türkiye is İznik, which was selected as a Cittaslow.”