Turkish Forum

Tag: Sultanahmet Square

  • Turkey’s culture ministry last hope for preserving Istanbul skyline

    Turkey’s culture ministry last hope for preserving Istanbul skyline

    Turkey’s culture ministry last hope for preserving Istanbul skyline

    istanbul siluet

    The İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality now says it can’t stop the construction because it is not in charge of the area where the buildings are being erected.

    The outline of centuries-old mosques against the Bosporus sky has defined İstanbul for much of its history, but now it is up to the Culture and Tourism Ministry to decide whether the historic skyline can remain undistorted.

    Three skyscrapers (the tallest will be 155 meters [508 feet] high) are going up in Zeytinburnu, but even before they started to near completion, they changed the city skyline, rising high above and behind the city’s historic mosques.

    Now the view of Kazlıçeşme from the sea features three looming rectangular blocks in the background, which look like they are going to prey on and devour at any minute the ever-imposing Sultanahmet Mosque that unsuspectingly stands right before them.

    The problem was noticed only recently, when the skyscrapers started getting taller. In the most recent development in the debate about the fate of the panoramic skyline, it emerged that it falls under the responsibility of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to decide the fate of the skyscrapers due to a change that expanded the preservation zone around the old city in 2008. The İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality was responsible for the area prior to the change.

    The skyscrapers are being built on a 28,000-square-meter (301,389 square foot) plot that was sold by the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) in 2007 to private investor Mesut Toprak for $45 million. First, there were changes to zoning plans after the sale, allowing the construction of skyscrapers in the area. The threat to the city’s historic skyline was discovered only after the three buildings had reached a certain height.

    The İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality now says it can’t stop the construction because it is not in charge of the area where the buildings are being erected. Only the Ministry of Culture and Tourism can stop the construction, city officials have said. Sources say the city has been talking to the construction company for a solution, but the talks have not yet yielded any results.

    Although the outcome of the skyline saga is not yet certain, it has already taught an important lesson. The city recently announced that it will start an archive of three-dimensional and aerial images of the historic parts of the city, which will be used later to decide whether to allow a new building in the area, based on a simulated image of the area showing what it will look like when the building in question is complete.

    Cihan

    via Turkey’s culture ministry last hope for preserving Istanbul skyline | General | World Bulletin.

  • Nonstop from Washington: Istanbul

    Nonstop from Washington: Istanbul

    New nonstop service isn’t the only reason to visit this ancient city.

    The Mosque

    WHY NOW
    Turkish Airlines started nonstop service to Istanbul from Dulles in November, making it easier to visit one of the world’s most fascinating cities.

    First-time visitors may be surprised at the size and beauty of Istanbul, a city of 13 million built on hills with sea vistas on all sides. The world’s only major city to span two continents—Europe and Asia—Istanbul is divided by the Bosphorus Strait.

    Once known as Constantinople, the eastern capital of the Roman Empire, it became the center of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires. Today’s Istanbul blends the minarets and mosques, churches and palaces of the past with the energy of a modern metropolis.

    WHAT TO DO
    On the European side are the classic sights, such as the Old Town’s Sultanahmet Square and theBlue Mosque, named for the extraordinary blue tile work inside. The domes and six minaret spires, built from 1609 to 1616, are city symbols.

    Hagia Sophia is nearby. An icon of Christianity, the church is a feat of design and engineering from the sixth century; its nave is topped by a 184-foot-high dome.

    From there it’s a short walk to Topkapi Palace, built by Sultan Mehmet II from 1460 to 1478 and the home of Ottoman sultans for 400 years. Courtyards and pavilions offered lavish space for the sultans and their harems. Highlights include the throne room and the treasury, with its 86-carat Spoonmaker’s Diamond.

    Other sights include Suleymaniye Mosque, built in the 1550s for Suleiman the Magnificent, and the colorful stalls of the Spice Bazaar, dating from the early 17th century.

    Plan Tours’ City Sightseeing Tour is a hop-on, hop-off bus that offers an overview of the rest of Istanbul with English narration. From Sultanahmet Square, the open-top bus crosses fisherman-lined Galata Bridge and travels uphill to Taksim Square in the Beyoglu district, the heart of the new and fashionable. Take a walk down one of Europe’s busiest shopping streets, pedestrian-onlyIstiklal, lined with cafes and shops—from designer boutiques to an NBA shop and a fish market. You’ll see women in head scarves and others in miniskirts mingling peacefully. Ride the old-fashioned tram back up the hill to rejoin the bus and continue through old Jewish and Muslim neighborhoods and past ancient city walls.

    Marble-domed Cemberlitas Baths in the Old Town is a popular place to experience the steaming and massaging of a Turkish bath. A boat ride on the Bosphorus offers a memorable view of the city skyline. TurYol boats offer 90-minute cruises from the Eminonu pier near the Old City side of the Galata Bridge.
    DON’T MISS
    The Grand Bazaar—one of the world’s oldest shopping malls, operating since the 1400s—is a labyrinth of thousands of shops and stalls in the Old City selling everything from tourist souvenirs to fine jewelry, ceramics, and carpets. Be alert for pickpockets, and be prepared to bargain.
    WHERE TO EAT
    Seafood is king in seaside Istanbul, and meals often begin with mezze, small Turkish dishes. In the Old Town, Balikci Sabahattin is an upscale place to sample both seafood and mezze.

    The setting and Turkish/French cuisine also are excellent at Sarnic, a converted vaulted Byzantine cistern.

    For a more modest tab, try the kebabs and other specialties at Buhara 93, and for a special lunch, visit pretty Pandeli upstairs over the Spice Bazaar.

    Want to splurge? Seasons at the Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at Sultanahmet is the place for continental fare as well as local specialities.
    WHERE TO STAY
    Hotels near Sultanahmet Square are convenient for sightseeing. Nine restored 19th-century houses make up the atmospheric 64-room Turing Ayasofya Konaklari (rooms from $104). Ottoman Hotel Imperial offers comfortable rooms in a restored 1800s school (from $138 with breakfast).

    The modern Hotel Golden Horn Sultanahmet has many online specials (from $125 with breakfast). For celebrity followers, the city’s best-known hotel, Pera Palace in Beyoglu, is fresh off a renovation (from $368).

    This article first appeared in the December 2010 issue of The Washingtonian.

    Washingtonian