Approaching the Monuments of the ‘Other’: A Model for Their Presentation

There are many ways to explore cultural heritage of another country or another city in the one’s country. Cultural heritage can be found in art (painting, sculpture, architecture, music), language, monuments, customs, religion, rituals, institutions and values of social life. Understanding the other’s cultural heritage helps finding a way into the others’ history and culture and build bridges with them. Monuments are one of the elements of cultural heritage that were constructed to help maintain memory by stating historical events of important turning points either in history or in culture. They are pieces of art which express cultural opinions, values, ideas and religious beliefs political ideas, practices, traditions and institutions of a social group. They are signs of people and their culture and history. There can be two ways to approach a monument: (a) as viewer, (b) as tourist. In both cases, people usually remain at superficial level without seeking the deeper meaning and symbolism of cultural elements. An inter-cultural approach of a monument can take place at three levels: (1) cognitive, (2) sentimental, (3) Action. We propose a model for the better approach and understanding of monuments which we believe will help detecting of information of historical and cultural data, presentations and analyses of the monument, relations between religion and society, architecture of the monument. We shall use the model we propose in the presentation of three ottoman monuments of Thessaloniki.