Commons:Wiki Loves Monuments 2026 in Turkey
1-31 October, 2026
Wiki Loves Monuments is a fun, global photo contest on Wikimedia Commons that helps share images of historic sites with the world—especially on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects
We invite you to join in by uploading your photos of historical monuments in Türkiye between 1–31 October 2026. It’s a great way to help people learn more about these amazing places—and you might even win a prize!
Before uploading, just remember to find the monument ID from the monuments list and include it along with the name of the monument, a short description, and the date you took the photo and then login to your Wikimedia account. Feel free to submit many images and let the jury evaluate!
The list of monuments in Türkiye includes over 26,000 sites—from ancient tumuli, tombs, and fountains to mosques, castles, hans, and caravanserais dating back to the Roman, Seljuk, and Ottoman periods. This comprehensive list was provided by kulturenvanteri.com—an online community that has been researching and compiling an inventory of cultural heritage assets across Anatolia, the Balkans, and surrounding regions since 2019 to create a trusted source for up-to-date and reliable information on these monuments.
Join
Check the Monuments List and upload photoIf you dont have an account:
The Jury and Prize
A national jury will select up to 10 photographs to represent Türkiye in the international finale of Wiki Loves Monuments. These images will compete for the international awards. The photographers of the 10 images selected for the international finale will share the honor of representing Türkiye on the global stage. Please find more information about the international competition is available on wikilovesmonuments.org.
National prizes will be awarded to the top 3 finishers (valid only for uploads done through the website). The winners will be announced here at the end of the competition (detailed info about national prizes). Although up to 10 photos will be sent to the international finale, In this contest, every participant is a winner—because every photo uploaded helps Wikipedia share knowledge about Türkiye’s cultural heritage with the world. In addition, national prizes will be awarded to the best photographs of monuments in Türkiye.
Rules
There are a few rules to participate in the contest. Let's quickly go through them. Every submission should be:
- Be self-taken and self-uploaded to Wikimedia Commons;
- Uploaded during October 2026. The date on which a photo was taken is not taken into account. Photos taken at any time are eligible, provided that they are uploaded between 1 and 31 October 2026.
- During the upload process, permission must be given to re-use the image under a free license;
- Contain an identified monument. If your country/area has heritage monuments with unique identifiers (IDs), this identifier must be provided on every participating photo;
Next to that, there are a few practical rules:
- You should have an activated e-mail address on Wikimedia Commons;
- If the photo gets deleted for any reason, it is automatically disqualified from the competition;
- You are responsible for following the law while taking and uploading the photo.
In October, you may upload as many pictures (old or new) as you want of monuments that you have visited. The national jury will evaluate the photographs and select the best 10 pictures of the monuments in Türkiye to submit to represent in the international finale. The international jury will then announce the international winners.
- Documentation Category Rules
- In the documentation category, rankings are determined by the points participants collect during the contest. The three participants with the highest scores are eligible for prizes.
- Only photos uploaded through https://vikianitlariseviyor.toolforge.org are included in the scoring.
- The date on which a photo was taken is not taken into account. Photos taken at any time are eligible, provided that they are uploaded between 1 and 31 October 2026.
- Points are awarded per monument. For each monument, the following points are given:
- Uploading a photo taken by the participant of the monument: 1 point. This point is awarded once, regardless of the number of photos uploaded for the same monument.
- The monument's Wikidata item having no main image (P18) at the time the photo is uploaded: 1 point.
- For a monument whose Wikidata item has no main image (P18) at the time of upload, setting the uploaded photo as the item's main image during the upload process on https://vikianitlariseviyor.toolforge.org: 1 point. A main image added at any other time does not earn this point.
- The maximum score per monument is 3 points.
- Scoring closes at 00:00 Turkey time (UTC+3) on the night of 31 October 2026. Uploads and main image additions made after this time do not earn points.
- The current standings shown at https://vikianitlariseviyor.toolforge.org/2026 are for information only and do not constitute final results. The final ranking is based on the scores calculated after the contest ends.
- Only photos that meet the general participation requirements of the contest are included in the scoring.
- Points earned from deleted photos are deducted from the total score.
- In the event of a tie, the participant who photographed more monuments without a main image (P18) at the time of upload ranks higher. If the tie remains, the participant who reached the tied score first ranks higher.
- Each photo must clearly depict the monument it is uploaded for. Photos that are unrelated to the monument, uploaded with an incorrect monument ID, or of such low photographic quality that the monument cannot be identified (e.g. blurred, too dark, taken from too far away, or with the monument largely obstructed) do not earn points. Where such uploads appear to be made systematically in order to collect points, the participant will be disqualified from the documentation category.
Local Organizer
- Adem Özcan (User:Sadrettin)
The National Jury
- Banu Nazikcan
- Engin Tavlı
- Leyla Yaman Özkaya
The National Prizes
- Best Photograph category
- First prize: ₺35.000
- Second prize: ₺25.000
- Third prize: ₺15.000
- Documentation category
- First prize: ₺35.000
- Second prize: ₺25.000
- Third prize: ₺15.000
Judging Criteria
- Technical quality (sharpness, use of light, perspective, etc.);
- Originality;
- Usefulness of the image for Wikipedia.
Images that reach a top ranking of the international finale will typically at least fulfill the technical criteria of the "Featured Image" process at Wikimedia Commons.
Find monuments
There are plenty of cultural heritage monuments in your region. Check the map of monuments and note the monument ID!
Take photos
Make as many and as good photos as you can, try different angles. Even if the photo doesn't win you a prize, it may help Wikipedia!
Describe them
Write down what you photographed. Record the site's name, the monument ID, description, and date of photo.
Upload to Commons
Upload your images to Wikimedia Commons between 1st and 31th of October. Create an account, if you don't have one already.Statistics
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