Contemporary Studies and Theories in Tourism

Introduction

As Heraclitus of Ephesus (500 BC) stated, “The only thing that is constant is change.” From past to present, many scientific, technological, cultural, social and political developments have influenced each other and caused various changes in both social and individual life. When the issue of change is evaluated in terms of tourism, it is seen that many different types of tourists and therefore types of tourism have emerged until today. Because the emergence of new types of tourism is caused by people’s personal differences, wishes and expectations. This differentiation is the main source of change in the field of tourism. Considering these explanations, it is seen that traditional mass tourism is insufficient to meet people’s holiday expectations. For this reason, people tend to choose different types of tourism. Treasure hunting tourism, which is closely related to culture and adventure tourism, is actually a type of tourism that emerged as a result of treasure hunting, which is carried out in an amateur way or professionally in many different countries of the world, within the scope of tourism. Considering the impact of those who are interested in seeing and examining different plant species on the emergence of botanical tourism; the impact of those interested in bird species on the emergence of bird watching tourism; the impact of those interested in space on the emergence of space tourism; the impact of those who are interested in different cultural and local cuisines on the emergence of gastronomy tourism and the impact of those who are interested in golf on the emergence of golf tourism, it is clear that people who are interested in treasure and treasure hunting will have an impact on the emergence of treasure hunting as a type of tourism.

There is no research in the literature that deals with treasure hunting within the scope of tourism. From this perspective, the fact that it is the first study in the literature in the field of treasure hunting tourism increases the originality and importance of this study. In the study, which aims to shed light on the studies to be carried out in this field, the basic concepts related to treasure and treasure hunting, the legal framework of treasure hunting in Türkiye, treasure hunting in terms of tourism and its relationship with cultural tourism and adventure tourism are evaluated

Basic Concepts Related to Treasure Hunting

Treasure: It is possible to come across different definitions of “treasure” in the literature. According the Turkish Civil Code Article-772; “Valuable things that have been buried or stored long before they were discovered, and that no longer have the owner, are deemed treasure.” (www.tusev.org.tr). Özdoğan (2014: 189) describes the concept of “treasure” in his study as “non-cultural but materially valuable findings that are estimated/imagined to be found anywhere other than an archaeological site.” Akkaya (1993: 259) defines treasure in his study as; “Items consisting of jewellery, money and precious stones that were buried or hidden before the time they were found and whose ownership cannot be proven.” According to the provision of Article 4/b of the Regulation on Treasure Hunting amended on 21.07.2020 treasure is defined as “Movable properties that are buried or hidden and that it is clearly understood that there is no owner anymore depending on the situation, that are outside the Article-6 and Article-23 of Law No. 2863 and that do not have scientific value.” (Kuşçu, 2022: 101).

Treasure Hunter: In his study, Akkaya (1993: 259) defines a treasure hunter as a person who digs or has someone else do it, with or without permission, in order to find treasures. Briefly, a treasure hunter can be defined as a person who digs or has it done by legal or illegal means in order to find treasure.

Treasure Hunting: Although treasure hunting is seen as an illegal activity in daily use, it is an activity that can be done legally. Özdoğan (2014: 189) defines “treasure hunting” as “Finding and uncovering the properties of the person(s) who left or abandoned their location for any reason.” In his study, Karaduman (2005: 29) defines treasure hunting as “the dream of people who lack cultural awareness to become rich by finding treasures illegally for a better economic life and with the influence of religious elements, the search for imaginary treasures that mature over time and become legendary by being passed on from generation to generation.”

Cultural Property: According to Article 3/a-1 of the Law on the Protection of Cultural and Natural Property; “Cultural property” shall refer to movable and immovable property on the ground, under the ground or under the water pertaining to science, culture, religion and fine arts of before and after recorded history or that is of unique scientific and cultural value for social life before and after recorded history. (https://kvmgm.ktb.gov.tr/).

Natural Property: According to Article 3/a-2 of the Law on the Protection of Cultural and Natural a Property; “Natural property” shall refer to all properties on the ground, under the ground or under the water pertaining to geological periods, prehistoric periods until present time, that are of unique kind or require protection due to their characteristics and beauty (https://kvmgm.ktb.gov.tr/).

Conservation Zone: According to Article 3/a-5 of the Law on the Protection of Cultural and Natural Property; “Conservation zone” shall mean anarea to be protected mandatory with activities to conserve its cultural and natural property or its historical environment. (https://kvmgm.ktb.gov.tr/).

Characteristics of the Treasure

Treasure(s) can be found as a result of treasure hunting activities, agricultural activities or works such as digging foundations for any construction, highway, bridge or dam. Sometimes natural disasters such as floods and landslides can also cause treasure to emerge. Any object that emerges must have certain characteristics in order to be considered a treasure. Erdoğan (2013: 517–521) itemized the characteristics of treasure as follows, based on the definition of the concept of treasure in the first paragraph of Article 772 of the Turkish Civil Code:

1. (a) Its being buried or hidden: This characteristic brings to mind two possibilities. The first of these indicates that the treasure was buried by someone. The other one means that the treasure remains under the surface due to natural reasons such as landslides and floods, being buried under snow and ice, being covered with tree branches and leaves over time and the area where the treasure is located being flooded. Anything that requires a clearing or excavation effort to uncover for whatever reason is considered as buried. For treasure, “hidden” and “buried” have different meanings. As a matter of fact, since it is not possible for the treasure to hide itself, hiding the treasure is an act that requires deliberate action by someone.
2. (b) Its beign hidden or buried a long time ago: When evaluated within the scope of property law, for an item to be considered as treasure, it must have been buried or hidden long before it was found. However, here the phrase “a long time ago” brings up the question “How long ago?” A century ago? Five years ago? Erdoğan (2013: 518) here referred to Article-166 of Mecelle: “The one/thing whose previous is not known is ancient.” In fact, the structure of the treasure found, the way it is stored and how it was found can give an idea about whether it is a treasure from ancient times.
3. (c) Its being portable: This feature means that the thing(s) can be separated from where it is stored or buried. Whether it is hidden/buried in an immovable property or a movable property, the treasure must be separable (Eren, 2012: 509). The “separation” in question here refers to physical separation.
4. (d) Its being something valuable: An object that can be described as a treasure may have only material or moral value, or it may have both material and moral value. The material value of the object is actually related to the fact that it has an economic value that can be measured in money and can be bought and sold. Although some objects do not have economic value, being intangable makes them worth preserving. For example, objects such as a canteen, bayonet or a button on the uniform of a Turkish soldier from the Gallipoli War may not have a real economic value, but for a Turkish citizen, the intangible value of the object in question can be more meaningful than its economic value, as he/she will describe it as “priceless”. In addition to the material and intangible value of an object that is considered as a treasure, its scientific and cultural value is also an issue that must be taken into consideration.
5. (e) Its being unowned: In order for an object buried or hidden a long time ago to be considered as a treasure, it must have no owner. However, the ownership here refers to the ownership status of the object at the time it was found, not the ownership at the time the object was buried or hidden. Therefore, after the object is discovered, if someone claims ownership over this object and proves this claim, the object in question will not be considered within the scope of treasure. In such a case, the “found goods” provisions will apply to the object that has been found, and different provisions will be applied depending on whether the statute of limitations for acquiring ownership of the object has passed or not (Feyzioğlu, 1955: 186–187).

In summary, these five characteristics, have an important role in determining whether any asset that emerges as a result of human effort or naturally is considered a treasure.

Legal Treasure Hunting Process in Türkiye

Two laws stand out in the legal treasure hunting process. The first of these is the Law on the Protection of Cultural and Natural Resources. The other is the Regulation on Treasure Hunting, which was published in the Official Gazette No. 18294 dated January 27, 1984, and various articles of which were amended on 21.07.2020. The legal treasure hunting process consists of the stages explained below.

1. (a) Application: At this stage, it is important that those who will apply to search for treasure have the capacity to act, that is, the capacity to exercise their civil rights. Because according to the Turkish Civil Code Article-9 and Article-10, a person’s ability to acquire rights and incur obligations depends on the person in question having the capacity to act. Each adult who has the ability to distinguish and has no mental disability has the capacity to act (Edis, 1979: 30).
2. (b) Treasure hunting areas: Criteria for places where treasure hunting will take place are determined by law. The treasure may be in the “protected area” defined in Article-3/a-5 of the Cultural and Natural Property Protection Law, or in areas that are not defined as a “protected area” by the law. Law on the Conservation of Cultural and Natural Property states in detail what real estate and cultural properties need to be protected, with examples. Therefore, permission to search for treasure can be given in places other than those that are considered places that need to be protected (https:// kvmgm.ktb.gov.tr/).
3. (c) Issuance of license: The Governorship can issue a treasure hunting license to the applicant if it sees no harm in granting the license. The validity period of the license is limited to the year in which the application is made. Therefore, the license will be automatically canceled on 31 December of the relevant year. Since the treasure hunting license is given to an individual, it cannot be transferred to anyone else, that is, it can only be used by the person who received the license. A license that is not used properly may be cancelled. For example, if the officials appointed by the governorship determine that the 50m² area allowed for excavation is exceeded, the license can be cancelled.
4. (d) Officials who should be present during treasure search and expenses: Article-11 of the Regulation on Treasure Hunting clarifies this stage of the legal treasure hunting process. Accordingly, during treasure hunting, two specialized personnel assigned by the nearest museum directorate, as well as a local representative of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who are responsible for law enforcement services, must accompany the work. The travel expenses and daily wages of the officials who will supervise the treasure search, the expenses incurred to restore the excavation site and the expenses of possible damages must be paid by the person who will search for treasure (https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/).
5. (e) Ending the treasure hunt: If the treasure hunting activities are legally stopped by the relevant authorities, the treasure seeker cannot claim compensation for his/her losses and damages. If cultural and natural properties are found during the treasure search, the search must be stopped immediately and the Ministry must be informed of the situation. If cultural and natural properties are found, the person searching for treasure cannot claim any rights over them. It is possible that no treasure will be found as a result of treasure hunting. However, if a treasure is found, the objects must be examined by an expert team consisting of at least 3 people appointed by the Ministry, according to Article-17 of the Regulation on Treasure Search.

Treasure Hunting Tourism: The Intersection Point of Treasure Hunting and Tourism

The rapid change and development in science and technology causes rapid changes in people’s needs and desires both in their business and private lives. A product that was in great demand yesterday may lose its appeal today. This situation also causes the definition of the concept of “holiday/vacation”, which is one of the basic elements of tourism, to change. For example, while reading a book on the beach means a holiday for one person, ice climbing, participating in a safari or camping may mean a “holiday/vacation” for another person. Depending on the meaning people attach to the concept of “holiday/vacation”, their expectations are also affected. This year, a tourist who prefers a completely relaxation-oriented holiday that includes the sea-sand-sun trio in an all-inclusive accommodation facility may demand a holiday that includes activities with very high risk and danger levels that require going out of the comfort zone for the next holiday.

Developments in science and technology directly or indirectly lead to the emergence of new tourism types. For example, thanks to the point reached today in aviation and space technologies, concepts such as “space tourism” and “space tourist” are mentioned in the literature today (Yıldız, 2021). Technological developments make people’s work and private lives easier and allow them to be less physically tired. This situation suggests that “resting”-one of the main purposes of tourism- is not as effective as it used to be in people’s participation in tourism activities. In other words, today people have begun to prefer types of tourism that include activities where they can be more physically active and have different experiences. Although “treasure hunting tourism” has not emerged due to scientific and technological developments like “space tourism”, it is similar to space tourism in terms of including features such as “being the first”, “excitement” and “adrenaline”.

Throughout history, treasures and treasure hunting have attracted people’s attention. Today, as in the past, treasure hunters search for treasures not only for financial reasons but also for adventure. Türkiye, which has hosted many civilizations due to its geographical location, is among the few countries in the world in terms of historical and cultural richness. Due to this prominent feature of Türkiye, treasure hunters who want to find treasure, cause irreparable damage to historical and cultural riches through illegal excavations.

What tourism has in common with treasure and treasure hunting is the existence of ancient civilizations that previously lived in a geography. Discovered and undiscovered historical and cultural properties belonging to the civilizations that lived in a region, are the common element that attracts tourists and treasure hunters. However, the point that needs to be emphasized here is that the goals of treasure hunters and tourists are different.

Various legal regulations have been made in Türkiye in order to prevent natural and cultural properties, which are the raw materials of the tourism industry, from being damaged due to illegal treasure hunting and to legalize treasure hunting. Carrying out treasure hunting within the framework of the law will make a significant contribution to the realization of treasure hunting within the scope of tourism, which is an important source of income for many countries. Since there is no study focusing directly on treasure hunting tourism in the literature, it is not possible to come across a clear definition of treasure hunting tourism. However, in the light of the explanations made so far, “treasure hunting tourism” can be defined as “a type of tourism that is associated with the active or passive participation of adventure enthusiasts in every stage of a legally permitted treasure hunting activity and/or visiting places where there are natural or man-made signs used in detecting a treasure.”