Balat'ta Tarihi Çevre Koruma Projesi

Abstract

"Balat'ta Tarihi Çevre Koruma Projesi" adını taşıyan bu tez dört bölümden oluşmaktadır. Giriş bölümünün ardından ikinci bölümde Balat semti ile ilgili genel bilgi ve tarihçe yer almaktadır. Tarihçede, Bizans döneminden günümüze, Balat'taki fiziksel ve sosyal değişim ele alınmaktadır. Üçüncü bölüm "Tarihi Çevre Analizi"dir. Bölgedeki anıtsal yapılar tanıtılmış, fiziksel dokunun genel özellikleri saptanmıştır. Hacı Rıza Sokak ve Ayan Caddesi'ndeki rölöve çalışmaları ve tarihi dokudaki gözlemler sonucunda, yapıların plan ve cephe özellikleri belirlenmiştir. Bu özelliklerden yola çıkarak yapılardaki değişimler tespit edilmiştir. Balat' m Tarihi Yanmada içerisindeki önemi belirtilip tarihi dokunun sağlıklılaştırılarak korunması için öneriler sunulmuş, adı geçen caddelerde korumaya yönelik bir örnek oluşturulmuştur. Dördüncü bölümde çalışmanın sonuçlan değerlendirilmiştir.

Balat is located on the south coast of Golden Horn, between Fener and Ayvansaray neighborhoods. Kesmekaya and Draman are situated on the south of Balat. According to some sources, the name "Balat", is explained from the word, "palation" in Greek which means "palace". Another thesis is that; the gypsies came from ancient Miletos, "Balat" in Turkish, settled in this region during the reign of Mehmet II period. During Byzantine Period, there was a palace and a harbor in Blachernai (14th Region of Constantinople) which is known as Ayvansaray today. The emperor coming from the harbor reached his palace by passing through an imperial gate which was called "Balat Gate" today. During this period, historical peninsula was surroimded by city walls. There were Land Walls between Ayvansaray - Yedikule and Sea Walls (Marmara Walls) between Yedikule - Sarayburnu. Sea Walls along Golden Horn were completed later. Because no attack was expected from this direction, Golden Horn Walls were constructed as a single layer and lower than the other walls. Sea Walls were strengthened by square towers and had gates giving access to the harbors. The Imperial Gate in Balat, which is known as Porta Basilique was located between Porta Fenari and Porta Kynegon. In the Xlllth century, the valley between Karagümrük and Balat was a religious area where important monasteries as Pammakaristos and Chora were located. Moreover, XVll plaster or brick. The ornaments on the plasters are typical for Balat. They have Jew stars with six corners and flowers with six leaves symbolizing Jew star, frequently. All the buildings have basements. The houses raised from the street have basements are not only for storing but also for living. The buildings generally have four floors; a low basement, ground floor and two stories. The ground floor includes a room in front and a kitchen with a toilet at the back. The first and second floors include one room at two sides of middle sofa. These stories have original toilets which are located next to the room at the back of the floor or in the middle sofa. Today, each floor in these houses is rented by different families. It's known that in 1920 - 30's, middle class Jewish people were renting the lower stories of their houses to have some sort of income, also. So, little kitchens were added to these stories. Generally, the toilets were separated into two to gain space for the kitchens. It is not a hygienic situation and during the rehabilitation of the area, these additional kitchens should be removed. Balat has very important historical buildings. Ahrida, Yanbol and Chana Synagogues are monumental examples of Jewish culture. Ferruh Kethüda Mosque was constructed by architect Sinan in 1562. Çavuş Bath is thought as one of the oldest baths in Istanbul. Surp Hreşdagabet Armenian Church was rebuilt in the 18th century. There are some very important buildings around Balat, too. Kariye Mosque (Chora Church) and Gül Mosque (Pammakaristos Church) are from Byzantine Period and are known as the most important monuments of that period. In Fener - Balat coast, there is the Church Tur-ı Sina which is a continuation of a monastery in Sina Peninsula. Because of Balat' s important position in Istanbul, the historical houses can be used as guest houses. The proprietors renting the floors of their houses to different families would have the same income when they transforms their houses into hostels. XV1U Iştipol was the smallest and the farthest quarter of Balat. It had been generally composed of wooden row houses. There were also houses in large gardens. The religious center was Iştipol Synagogue. Lonca was the upper part of Ayvansaray. The most important change of Balat had been lived in the middle of the 19th century. After the big fires during 17th and 18th centuries, there was a decree to use brick or stone as construction material instead of wood. In addition, the streets pattern was changed and transformed grid-iron plan, of grill. In 1890 Balat's open sewers were covered and the coast was filled. In 1894, an earthquake happened in Istanbul. The gate of Balat and Golden Horn Walls suffered from this earthquake. The rubbles of these structures were thrown into the sea. So, the coast line changed and new ports were established on the new coast line. After 1930's, a lot of factories were built. This quarter on the coast (Karabaş Mahallesi) was demolished totally in 1984 - 86 in Golden Horn project. Since the second half of 19th century, immigrations occurred from Balat to Istanbul's other settlements, especially Galata. Between 1920 - 30, Balat lived commercial vitality. Balat's qualified houses were built during this term. But this vitality could not prevent moving to popular and rich Jewish quarters like Kuzguncuk and Galata Besides, most of the Jews migrated to the newly established "Israel State" in 1948. The most of the remaining Jews also left between 1956 - 60, after the events of September 6- 7th. The people coming from Anatolia, especially from Black Sea region settled in the houses deserted by the Jews. The houses of Balat were constructed next to each other without a front garden and with direct entrance from the street. The typical entrances are almost at two stories height. There exists generally a narrow window near the entrance. The buildings often have a bow window in the middle of the first floor. A balcony is placed above it. If the bow window is made of timber, it is situated on the second floor. Some of the houses contain a third story or a penthouse. The houses were built of bricks and decorated with XIX Balat's quarters were named as Balat Afuera, Balat Aryentro, Tahta Minare, Kastoriya, Iştipol and Lonca in this century. Balat Afuera was a quarter along the coast. In this area, there were a few ports connecting with other ports of Istanbul. This quarter known as "Karabaş Mahallesi" was the dirtiest region of Balat and open sewers were flowing into the sea in 1890's. Typical examples of Jewish lodgings (yahudhane); big, wooden and multiple storied buildings were located in this quarter. Balat Aryentro was located inside Sea Walls. It was the most important and active quarter of Balat. This region included the commercial center located on Lapçıncılar and Leblebiciler Streets and important synagogues like Ahrida, Yanbol and Verria. They were hidden behind high garden walls and the houses of the rich people were constructed in their neighborhoods. Although, Balat Afuera had narrow and dirty streets, as well as poor buildings, Balat Aryentro had wide and light streets and well - cared, good looking buildings. Tahta Minare was on the south of Hızır Çavuş Köprüsü Street and reached Fener. The quarter has grid-iron plan and included typical examples of row houses and a few vast buildings designed like "yahudhane". The religious center of the quarter was Chana Synagogue. Kastoriya was the upper settlement of Balat in the surrounding of Tekfur Palace. In 1453, the Jew families brought from Kastoriya were settled here and constructed Kastoriya Synagogue. Kastoriya, which is quite sloping district was reached by steps until the early years of this century. The quarter had vast houses in the gardens on large and spacious streets. There were more Greek inhabitants than Jews, here. XX it is known that Romaniot (Byzantion) Jews constructed a few synagogues before the Conquest of Istanbul by the Ottomans. After the Conquest, Mehmet II brought thousands of people from everywhere especially the Balkans to populate the city. Among these people, Jews constituted an important amount. Balat is one of the 17 Jewish quarters recorded in Mehmet U's foundation records. The first Jewish settlers had came from Kastoriya in Macedonia and built Kastoriya Synagogue. Others from Balkans constructed synagogues named Ahrida, Yanbol, Chana, Verria and Iştipol. At the end of the 15th century, the Jews under constraint in Spain were invited by Bayezit the II to come to the Ottoman Empire. So, in 1492, thousands of Jews from Spain immigrated to Ottoman lands to settle. Most of these people coming to Istanbul were settled in Balat. So, Balat' s Romaniote Jewish population increased with the coming of Sefarad Jews. After Ayazmakapi fire in 1660, the Jews living in Eminönü - Bahçekapı area were also transferred to Balat. E.Ç. Kömürciyan who lived in 17th century emphasized that the city's 19th gate was in Balat. Balat had two sectors; the first, inside the city walls where Jews and many other communities lived and the second, outside of the city walls where only Jews lived. Inside the city walls there had been 800 Armenian houses around the church of Surp Hreşdagabet. Next to the church, there was a bath, a mosque by Ferruh Kethüda and a courthouse in the garden of the mosque. Inciciyan, who lived in 18th century also emphasized that the Jews lived on both sides of Sea Walls along the Golden Horn. During the 19th century, travelers always describe Balat as dirty and dark district of the town. Moreover, epidemics disease were seen very frequently during these years.