In this lecture, Dr. Muzaffer Özgüleş will present the „Palimpsest Cities“ project, Alanya University’s first successful Erasmus+ Higher Education initiative. This interactive event aims to engage the public with cultural heritage through science, gamification, and storytelling. The Project, designed for all multi-layered cities, uses innovative, learner-centered approaches such as gamification and storytelling to foster awareness of architectural history and cultural heritage by building connections with the city’s past and its people.

Far from a traditional lecture, we will explore the importance of heritage using fun games and stories about our city. Dr. Özgüleş will share the project’s innovative, learner-centered approach. We will discuss the project’s design phase and major outcomes, including public tours for a wide audience ranging from children to individuals with disabilities, course implementations across various university departments with its results, and the Palimpsest Cities mobile app. The session will also demonstrate how these educational models can be adapted for various age groups and disciplines to make science a source of enjoyment.

Muzaffer Özgüleş obtained his PhD in Architectural History from Istanbul Technical University in 2013. He pursued postdoctoral research at the University of Oxford from 2014 to 2015 as the Barakat Trust Fellow. He held the position of Assistant Professor at Gaziantep University’s Faculty of Architecture from 2016 to 2021, and coordinated the EU project „Timeline Travel: An Alternative Tool for Architectural History Learning and Teaching“ between 2017 and 2019. He is currently an Assistant Professor at Alanya University and recently coordinated the Erasmus+ KA220-HED project „Palimpsest Cities: Gamification and Storytelling for Architectural History and Cultural Heritage Awareness“. He has authored five children’s books and developed two mobile applications related to architectural history. He recently earned the 2025 Senior Scholar Award from the Barakat Trust to conduct three-months research at University of Oxford entitled “Historicizing and Visualizing the Evolution of Ottoman Architecture in Istanbul from the mid-15th to early 20th century.”