Dr Elifnaz Durusoy Özmen

faculty web page picture elifnaz scaled
Research Assistant
elifnaz.durusoyozmen@classics.ox.ac.uk

Qualifications: PhD in Building Survey and Restoration , MSc in Conservation of Cultural Heritage, BSc in City and Regional Planning 

ORCID: 0000-0002-3137-2187 

Link to college page: 

 

Academic Background

Dr Elifnaz Durusoy Özmen is a Research Assistant at the Faculty of Classics, University of Oxford. She is currently working on the ARCON Project, a British Academy-funded research project led by Professor Tuna Şare Ağtürk. Her work combines field-based research, heritage studies and spatial analysis, with a focus on urban archaeology, archaeological landscapes and historically layered environments.

Between 2025 and 2026, Dr Durusoy Özmen held a TÜBİTAK 2219 International Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Bristol, where she was a Visiting Research Fellow. Her fellowship project examined flood risk, resilience and conservation challenges in historic environments and cultural heritage contexts.

Dr Durusoy Özmen completed her PhD in Building Survey and Restoration at Yıldız Technical University (YTU) in Istanbul, Türkiye, in 2019. Her doctoral research examined spatial voids as a component of urban archaeological landscapes, focusing on the Theodosian Land Walls and their wider urban landscape in Istanbul. During her time at YTU, she contributed to extensive fieldwork in Anatolia and taught undergraduate and postgraduate modules on heritage conservation, urban archaeology and spatial analysis between 2019 and 2023.

She received her earlier training at Middle East Technical University (METU), Türkiye, where she completed a BSc in City and Regional Planning and an MSc in Conservation of Cultural Heritage. Her MSc research on the conservation and management of the Milas–Labraunda route received the METU Best Thesis Award in 2014 and the Çiğdem Tansel Publication Award in 2015, and was later published as a monograph.

Research Interests

Dr Durusoy Özmen’s research focuses on the intersection of cultural heritage and urban archaeology, with particular emphasis on historically layered urban landscapes. She examines how these complex environments are shaped by long-term processes of continuity, change, reuse and reinterpretation, primarily in Anatolia and the Eastern Mediterranean, across Greek, Roman, Late Antique and later historical periods.

Her work also engages with questions of risk, resilience and conservation in heritage contexts. This includes exploring how environmental pressures and post-disaster conditions affect the preservation, management and interpretation of urban archaeological sites and historic environments. To document and analyse these complex settings, she combines field-based research with digital, spatial and GIS-based methodologies.

Research Keywords

Historically Layered Urban Landscapes; Greek, Roman and Late Antique Urbanism; Anatolia and the Eastern Mediterranean; GIS and Spatial Analysis; Cultural Heritage Risk and Resilience; Environmental Change and Cultural Heritage; Post-Disaster Heritage Management

Teaching

Teaching

Publications

Full Publications:

Selected Publications:

Books

Durusoy, Elifnaz. (2016) Tarihi Yoldan Kültürel Rotaya: Milas ile Labraunda Arasındaki Yolun Korunması ve Yönetimi [From an Ancient Road to a Cultural Route: Protecting and Managing the Road between Milas and Labraunda]. Ankara: ODTÜ Yayıncılık.

Book Chapters

Omay Polat, Ebru; Bilgiç Elmas, Melis; Akçabozan Taşkıran, Aylin; and Durusoy Özmen, Elifnaz. (2025) “Aydın/Söke/Bayırdamı Köyü Kırsal Sit Alanı ve Geleneksel Konut Mimarisinin İncelenmesi.” [“An Examination of the Rural Conservation Area and Traditional Residential Architecture of Bayırdamı Village, Söke, Aydın”]. In K. Ç. Arslan and M. Çinko, eds, Türkiye’nin Kırsal Mimarlık Atlası. TMMOB Mimarlar Odası.

Durusoy, Elifnaz. (2016) “Cultural Routes: An Evaluation for the Turkish Case.” In Conservation of Cultural Heritage in Turkey. Istanbul: Ege Yayınları, pp. 113–126.

Journal Articles

Durusoy Özmen, Elifnaz. (2021) “Tarihsel Süreç İçerisinde Değişen ve Dönüşen Bir Mekânsal Boşluk: İstanbul Kara Surları Dünya Miras Alanı.” [“A Changing and Transforming Spatial Void in the Historical Process: Istanbul Land Walls World Heritage Area”]. TÜBA-KED Journal, 23, pp. 199–222.

Durusoy Özmen, Elifnaz; and Omay Polat, Ebru. (2021) “Assessing the Values-Based Context of Conservation for Modern Architectural Heritage: A Study on the Headquarters Building of the T.R. 17th Regional Directorate of Highways Complex, Istanbul.” Journal of Architectural Conservation, 27(1-2), pp. 84–103.

Durusoy Özmen, Elifnaz; and Omay Polat, Ebru. (2021) “Kentsel Dönüşümün Modern Bir Konut Alanı Üzerindeki Etkileri: Talimhane, İstanbul Örneği.” [“Effects of Urban Transformation on a Modern Housing Area: Talimhane, Istanbul Example”]. Planlama, 31(2), pp. 208–231.

Hızlı Erkılıç, Neslinur; Durusoy Özmen, Elifnaz; and Taştan, Hasan. (2021) “Interpreting the Factors in Forming the Sense of Place: The Case of Kuzguncuk Neighborhood, Istanbul.” ICONARP, 9(1), pp. 261–285.

Durusoy Özmen, Elifnaz; and Can, M. Cengiz. (2018) “Conservation of the Land Walls Protection Area by Renewal(!): Evaluating the Spatial Effects of Law No. 5366 through the ‘Zeytinburnu Culture Valley Project’ of Istanbul.” Megaron, 13(4), pp. 505–520.

Durusoy, Elifnaz; and Cihanger, Duygu. (2016) “Historical Garden vs. Urban Commodity?: The Case of Yedikule Urban Gardens of Istanbul.” Megaron, 11(1), pp. 125–136.