Architecture and the Turkish City: An Urban History of Istanbul Since the Ottomans

338 Pages·2017·55.26 MB·English

by  Gül, Murat

i
Murat Gül is Professor of Architecture at Istanbul Technical University, Turkey.
He has previously taught at the TOBB University of Economics and Technology in
Ankara, Turkey, the International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia- Herzegovina, the
University of Sydney, Australia and Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in Istanbul,
Turkey. He is the author of The Emergence of Modern Istanbul: Transformation and
Modernisation of a City (I.B.Tauris, 2009) and co- author of Istanbul Architecture
(2013).
ii
‘Architecture and the Turkish City is a fine representative example of the emerging
integrated urban history that grasps the overall dynamic driving development in
cities, the most complex of social creations’.
Harry Margalit, Associate Professor in Architecture,
The University of New South Wales
‘This is a volume worthy of a spectacular city. Thoughtful, intensely scholarly but
also highly readable, it weaves together the broad processes of economic and polit-
ical change and the specifics of urban development and design, especially in recent
decades. It is a timely book that also constitutes a new benchmark for the potential
of urban studies.’
Andrew Kirby, Editor of Cities: The International Journal of
Urban Policy and Planning and Professor of Social and
Behavioral Sciences, Arizona State University
iii
Architecture

and the
Turkish City
An Urban History of Istanbul
since the Ottomans
MURAT GÜL
iv
Published in 2017 by
I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd
London • New York
www.ibtauris.com
Copyright © 2017 Murat Gül
The right of Murat Gül to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by
the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof,
may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Every attempt has been made to gain permission for the use of the images in this book.
Any omissions will be rectified in future editions.
References to websites were correct at the time of writing.
ISBN: 978 1 78453 105 8
eISBN: 978 1 78672 230 0
ePDF: 978 1 78673 230 9
A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available
Typeset by Newgen
v
Contents

List of Illustrations vi
Acknowledgements x
Introduction 1
1 Late Ottoman Istanbul: early modernity, nationalism
and the end of an empire 9
2 Republican Istanbul: secularisation of the old city 45
3 1950s Istanbul: postwar dynamics and change 87
4 Istanbul between two coups: many plans, many failures 117
5 The 1980s: Istanbul encounters neo- liberalism 153
6 The 1990s: political instability, financial crises and
architecture adrift 183
7 From 2000: marching towards a global city 213
Epilogue 259
Notes 269
Bibliography 303
Index 310
v
vi
List of Illustrations

1 Map of Istanbul, Ebru Şevkin 8
2 Nuruosmaniye Mosque, Aras Neftçi 12
3 Dolmabahçe Palace, entrance to the State Apartments, Aras Neftçi 16
4 Ministry of War entry gate, Murat Gül 18
5 Pertevniyal Valide Mosque, c.1900, Library of Congress 19
6 Çırağan Palace, Murat Gül 20
7 The German Fountain at Sultanahmet, c.1900s, Library of Congress 22
8 Vallaury’s Imperial Museum, Aras Neftçi 24
9 The rear view of the Ottoman Bank (centre left) from the Golden
Horn, Library of Congress 25
10 The Pera Palace Hotel, Murat Gül 27
11 The Botter Apartment Building in Beyoğlu, Murat Gül 28
12 A timber Art Nouveau house in Arnavutköy on the European shores
of the Bosphorus, Murat Gül 29
13 Haydarpaşa Railway Terminus, Aras Neftçi 30
14 The monumental gate of the Public Debts Administration Building,
Aras Neftçi 35
15 The Imperial School of Medicine at Haydarpaşa on the Asian side of
Istanbul, Aras Neftçi 36
16 The Ministry of Post and Telegraph building (present-day General
Post Office) at Sirkeci, Aras Neftçi 39
17 The commanding view of the Land and Titles Office facing the
Sultanahmet Mosque, Murat Gül 40
18 The Fourth Vakıf Han, Aras Neftçi 41
19 The Republic Monument at Taksim Square, c.1940s, MSGSÜ,
Restoration Department Archives, Istanbul 49
20 The İzmir Palace Apartment Building in Maçka, Aras Neftçi 52
21 Harikzedegan Apartments in Laleli, Murat Gül 53
22 The major aspects of Prost’s plan for Istanbul, Atatürk Library,
Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality 56
23 The Atatürk Boulevard, c.1940s, Reproduced from Cumhuriyet
Devrinde İstanbul (Istanbul: İstanbul Belediyesi, Neşriyat ve İstatistik
Müdürlüğü, 1949) 57
vi
vii
List of Illustrations
24 Eminönü and Galata Bridge after demolitions, c.1940s, Yapı Kredi
History Archives, Selahattin Giz Collection, Istanbul 58
25 İnönü Promenade, Reproduced from Güzelleşen İstanbul
(Istanbul: İstanbul Belediyesi, 1943) 59
26 The Ceylan Apartment Building in Talimhane, Rahmi M. Koç
Archive & SALT Research, Sedad Hakkı Eldem Archive 62
27 The Üçler Apartment Building in Gümüşsuyu, Aras Neftçi 63
28 An Art Deco apartment building in Maçka, Aras Neftçi 65
29 An Art Deco residential building in Ordu Street, Historic Peninsula,
Murat Gül 66
30 Atatürk’s Sea Pavilion in Florya, Aras Neftçi 67
31 Tüten Apartment Building in Gümüşsuyu, Murat Gül 69
32 Kadıköy People’s House, Güney Family Archives 73
33 Ayaşlı Yalısı in Beylerbeyi, on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus,
Rahmi M. Koç Archive & SALT Research, Sedad Hakkı Eldem
Archive 78
34 Taşlık Coffee House, MSGSÜ Photo Studio, courtesy of Nezih Aysel 79
35 Istanbul University Faculty of Letters, Murat Gül 80
36 Open- air theatre completed in 1947, Reproduced from Cumhuriyet
Devrinde İstanbul (Istanbul: İstanbul Belediyesi Neşriyat ve İstatistik
Müdürlüğü, 1949) 83
37 The Sports and Exhibition Palace opened its doors in 1949,
Reproduced from Cumhuriyet Devrinde İstanbul (Istanbul: İstanbul
Belediyesi Neşriyat ve İstatistik Müdürlüğü, 1949) 84
38 Justice Palace in Sultanahmet, Aras Neftçi 85
39 Vatan, Millet, Ordu streets and Atatürk Boulevard intersect in Aksaray,
c.1960s, Yapı Kredi History Archives, Selahattin Giz Collection, Istanbul 93
40 Istanbul Hilton Hotel, c.1957, Rahmi M. Koç Archive & SALT
Research, Sedad Hakkı Eldem Archive 97
41 Hilton’s porte- cochère designed by Eldem, Rahmi M. Koç Archive &
SALT Research, Sedad Hakkı Eldem Archive 99
42 Çınar Hotel in Yeşilköy, courtesy of Hilal Çınar 102
43 Tarabya Hotel, Aras Neftçi 102
44 Istanbul Municipal Palace, Aras Neftçi 103
45 Levent housing complex, Reproduced from Arkitekt 3 (1956), p.178 106
46 Hukukçular Sitesi, Aras Neftçi 107
47 İETT housing complex (1958– 62) in Okmeydanı, designed by Leyla
Turgut and Berkok İlkünsal, Salt Research, Architecture and Design
Archive. Photo: Gültekin Çizgen 108
vii
viii
List of Illustrations
48 Ataköy housing complex, Salt Research, Architecture and Design
Archive. Photo: Gültekin Çizgen 109
49 Atatürk Cultural Centre (AKM), front facade, c.1960s, SALT
Research, Tabanlıoğlu Archive 111
50 Emerging gecekondu dwellings in remote districts of Asian Istanbul,
Aras Neftçi 122
51 Social Security Complex in Zeyrek, Rahmi M. Koç Archive & SALT
Research, Sedad Hakkı Eldem Archive 128
52 An internal courtyard, İMÇ blocks, Murat Gül 129
53 Former Sheraton Hotel, Aras Neftçi 132
54 Harbiye Orduevi, Aras Neftçi 133
55 Odakule building in Beyoğlu, Aras Neftçi 134
56 Seventeenth District Headquarters of the Directorate of Highways
in Zincirlikuyu, courtesy of Mehmet Konuralp 136
57 The Bosphorus Bridge, Murat Gül 138
58 Tercüman Newspaper Headquarters, Aras Neftçi 140
59 İstanbul Reklam Ajansı, Murat Gül 141
60 Atatürk Library, Aras Neftçi 142
61 Multi-storey tenements emerged in former gecekondu districts,
Anatolian side of Istanbul, Aras Neftçi 147
62 The cultural landscape of Istanbul dominated by apartments,
a view from Üsküdar, Aras Neftçi 148
63 Gecekondu areas on the European side of Istanbul stretch
upwards, Aras Neftçi 157
64 New parks constructed by the Dalan administration
along the shores of the Golden Horn, Aras Neftçi 161
65 Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, Aras Neftçi 166
66 The winning design scheme for Taksim Square by Vedat
and Hakan Dalokay, Murat Gül personal archives 169
67 Galleria Shopping Centre in Ataköy, SALT Research,
M. Ekrem Çalıkoğlu Archive. Photo: M. Ekrem Çalıkoğlu 173
68 Swisshotel Bosphorus located above Dolmabahçe Palace, Murat Gül 175
69 Alarko Holding Headquarters in Maslak, Rahmi M. Koç
Archive & SALT Research, Sedad Hakkı Eldem Archive 177
70 Milli Reasürans building in Maçka, Aras Neftçi 181
71 The Park Hotel construction, following partial demolition (the line
indicates the proposed building envelope), Aras Neftçi, Ebru Şevkin
(drawing) 186
72 Capitol Shopping Centre, Aras Neftçi 188
viii