Galata Kent Surları Ve Koruma Önerileri

Abstract

Galata, tarihi boyunca önemini koruyan bir ticaret bölgesi olmuştur. Yerleşimi çevreleyen ilk surlar, geç Roma Döneminde I. Constantin (324-337) tarafından inşa ettirilmiş, II. Theodosius (408-450) Döneminde, Konstantinopolis ve çevresinin düzenlenmesi ile Sykai olarak adlandırılan Galata Bölgesi, Konstantinopolis’in 13. bölgesi olmuştur. 6. Yüzyıl’da İmparator lustinianos (527-565) tarafından Galata’yı çevreleyen surlar yenilenmiş, imar faaliyetlerine ithafen de bölge, Iustinianai olarak anılmıştır. İmparator II. Tiberios Döneminde (578-582) ise Haliç’in girişini kontrol etmek ve bölgenin güvenliğini sağlamak amacıyla, Haliç ile Boğaziçi’nin kesişme noktasında “Castellion Ton Galatou” adıyla anılan kale inşa edilmiş ve savunma zamanlarında Haliç’in üzerine çekilen zincirin bir ucu bu kaleye bağlanmıştır. 7. ve 8. Yüzyıl’da Bizans’ın zayıflaması ile bölge, Persler, Slavlar ve sonrasında Araplar tarafından kuşatılmış, 9. Yüzyıl’ın ikinci yarısında ise imparatorluk sınırlarının güvence altına alınması ile tekrar gelişmeye başlamıştır. 11. Yüzyıl’ın ikinci yarısında iktidara gelen Komnenos Hanedanlığı ile imar faaliyetleri hız kazanmış, Konstantinopolis ve çevresinde yeni surlar inşa edilmiştir. Bu dönemde kente gelen Akdenizli tüccar kolonileri etkinlik göstermeye başlamış ve verilen imtiyazlar ile Galata’da yerleşimler başlamıştır. 4. Haçlı Seferi’ne çıkan İtalyan donanmasının Konstantinopolis’i kuşatması ve 1204 yılında, Galata’nın ve Haliç’teki emniyet zincirinin bağlı olduğu Kastellion Kalesi’nin alınmasından sonra bütün kent ele geçirilmiştir. Latin yönetimindeki kent, 1261’de Bizans tarafından tekrar geri alınmış ve Latin Dönemi kapanmıştır. Bizans, Latin işgali altındaki Konstantinopolis’in geri alınmasında gösterdikleri tutumdan ötürü Cenevizlilere Galata Bölgesi’nde yerleşme imtiyazı vermiştir. Ceneviz Galatası’nın gelişimi 1303’den 1453’e; Galata’nın ve İstanbul’un fethine kadar altı safhada gerçekleşmiştir. 1300ler’de ilk imtiyaz ile 6 hektarlık bir alanı olan Ceneviz Kenti, 1450’lerde 37 hektara ulaşmıştır. Galata’daki ilk imtiyaz alanı, Cenevizlilere, 1303 yılında verilmiştir. Bu imtiyaz ile Bizans, Cenevizlilerin sağlam evler ve kiliseler inşa etmelerine izin vermiş fakat sur ve hisar inşası bu izinlerden hariç tutulmuştur. Cenevizliler ise ev yapımı bahanesi ile hendek kenarlarına sağlam kâgir burçlar inşa etmiş, zamanla bunların aralarına duvar örmüş ve bölgeyi tahkim etmeye başlamıştır. İlk surlar bu şekilde ortaya çıkmıştır. Cenevizliler, 1348-1349 yılları arasında, kentin kuzeyinde Galata Kulesi ni ve çevre surlarını inşa ederek bölgelerini genişletmişlerdir. Sırasıyla, 1352’de kentin doğusundaki sahil bölgesi ile eski Galata Kalesi arasındaki bölgeyi, 1387’de eski kentin kuzeyinde, Galata Kulesi’nin batısında yer alan bölümü, 1397’de kentin batısında Azap Kapı olarak adlandırılan bölümü ve 1400’de kentin doğusundaki bölgeyi Galata’ya dâhil etmişlerdir. Ancak Bizans’ın zayıflamasını fırsat bilerek genişletilen kent Osmanlı tehlikesi ile karşı karşıya kalmıştır. 1453 yılında İstanbul’un fethi ile Galata, Osmanlı yönetimine girmiş, yapılan anlaşma gereği Cenevizliler Osmanlı tebaası olmuştur. Fetih sonrasında Galata’da Osmanlı’nın emri ile surların ve Galata Kulesi’nin bazı bölümleri ile Kastellion Kalesi yıktırılmış, hendekler kısmen doldurulmuştur. 16. Yüzyıl’da 1509 depremi sonucu Galata Kulesi’nin yanı sıra surların büyük bir kısmı zarar görmüş ancak II. Beyazıt (1481-1512) Döneminde onarılmıştır. 17. ve 18. Yüzyıl’larda Osmanlı yönetimi verdiği fermanlar ile sur ve burçlar üzerine ev inşa edilmesine izin vermiş ve bir nizama bağlamıştır. Eski surların işlevini kaybetmesi nedeni ile birçok yerde özellikle deniz surlarına bitişik atölyeler ve evler inşa edilmiştir. 19. Yüzyıl’a kadar eksiksiz gelebilen Galata Surları, 1864 yılında dönemin kentsel dönüşüm politikalarının bir sonucu olarak, 6. Daire kararıyla, sıkışmış ulaşım ağının genişletilmesi ve yeni yapı adaları oluşturmak amacıyla yıkılmış ve hendekler doldurulmuştur. Galata Surları’ndan günümüze kısıtlı sayıda kalıntı ulaşmıştır. Bu çalışma ile sur ve burç kalıntılarından oluşan bu envanterin durumunun tespiti, belgelendirilmesi ve korunmasına yönelik bir adım atılmıştır. Çalışma, konu ile ilgili literatür araştırmalarını, bölgede yapılan alan incelemelerini, sur izlerine yönelik belgeleme çalışmalarını, Galata Surları’nın güzergahını ve surlar üzerindeki burçlara yönelik restitüsyon çalışmaları ile mevcut sur kalıntılarına yönelik koruma önerilerini kapsamaktadır.

Galata has been a commercial district which maintained it’s importance throughout it’s history. The historic orijins of Galata are as remote as those of Byzantium itself. From ancient times there had been settlements along the northern shore of the Golden Horn, known in Greek as Chryso Keras. Byzas, the eponymous founder of Byzantium, supposedly erected a temple on the north shore of the Golden Horn and dedicated it to the deified hero Amphiaraus. The ancient settlements on the north side of the Golden Horn was known as Sykai because of the fig tress. Sykai occupied the area along the shore, extending from there to the heights above. Subsequently the settlement spread out to the confluence of the Golden Horn and Bosphorus. The first walls had been built during late Roman Era, during the reign of Constantine I (324-337). During the reign of Theodosius II (408-450), Galata district, which was known as Sykai, became the 13th district of Constantinopolis after arrengement of Constantinopolis and it’s vicinity. According to the Notitia Urbis Constantinopolitanae, a description of the city written around 447, Sykai had 431 houses with a church, a forum, public baths, a theater, a harbor and was surrounded by a defence wall. The walls surrounding Galata were renewed in the 6th Century, during the reign of Emperor Iustinianos I (527-565) and the district was named Iustinianai after his reconstruction works. Iustinianos I restored its theatre, the defense wall and the church of Haghia Eirene. But soon after his reign, it reverted to its original name. During the reign of Emperor Tiberios II (578-582), a castle named “Castellion Ton Galatou” was built at crosspoint of Bosphorus and Golden Horn in order to control the entrance of Golden Horn and to maintain the security of the district. One end of the chain placed at the entrance of Golden Horn at times of defence was attached to this castle. The town continued to be known as Sykai up until the 7th Century, when it came to be called Galata, a name of uncertain origin. It was also referred to as Pera, which in Greek means “opposite” in the sense that it was across the Golden Horn from Constantinople. Later, from the 17th Century onwards, Pera referred to the district on the heights above, while the port quarter below was known as Galata, as it still is today. After the decline of Byzantium Empire during 7th and 8th Centuries, the region was encircled by Persians, Slavs and later by Arabs; however, after borders of the empire was secured, development continued. After Komnenos Dynasty came to power during the second half of 11th Century, reconstruction works had started again and new walls were built at Constantinopolis and it’s vicinity. Trader colonies from Mediterranean had started making business and after granting of concessions settlements had started in Galata. After the siege of Constantinopolis in the first years of the 13th Century by the Italian navy which took part in the 4th Crusade, entire city was conquered after the fall of Galata and of the Castellion Castle that the chain protecting the entrance was tied to. The city which was ruled by Latins was reconquered by Byzantium in 1261 ending Latin rule. Byzantium granted Genoese settlement concessions in Galata in return for their policy during the reconquering of Constantinopolis which was under Latin occupation. Earlier that year the Byzantines had made an alliance with the Genoese, who were awarded Galata as their base and harbor. The Genoese governed Galata as an autonomous city with its own podesta, appointed annually by the senate of Genoa. The podesta and his council met in a building known as the Podestat, popularly known as the Palazzo del Commune. Although the Genoese were forbidden to fortify Galata, they soon did so continuing to expand the town and its fortifications for more than a century and a half. Development of Galata of Genoese took place in six phases from 1303 to 1453, when Galata and Constantinopolis was conquered by Ottomans. Genoese town which had an area of 6 hectares in 1300’s when first concessions were granted had grown to 37 hectares in 1450’s. The first area of concessions was granted to Genoese in 1303. The first fortified area was a long and narrow rectangle along the shore of the Golden Horn. With the 1303 concession, Byzantium permitted Genoese to built houses and churches but construction of walls and castles were excluded. However, Genoese had constructed strong masonry bastions near the sides of trenches, within the course of time connected them by building walls in between and fortified the district. Consequently, the walls had emerged. Genoese added a triangular area on the heights above the northeastern half of the lower walled enclosure, with a huge tower at its apex in 1348-49. Originally named the Tower of Christ, it subsequently came to be known as the Galata Tower. Genoese enlarged their area by annexing to Galata the coastal region between the east of the city and old Galata Castle in 1352. Western part of Galata Tower at the north of the old city in 1387, the area known as Azap Kapi at the western side of the city in 1397 and the area at the east of the city in 1400. However, the city which was expanded due to the decline of power of Byzantium had to faced the threat from Ottomans. The final defense system consisted of five enceintes, with the outher wall bordered by a deep ditch. Only three of these enceintes can be seen in the earliest map of the city, the view by Buondelmonte in 1422, whereas four enceintes are apparent in the Vavassore engraving of 1480. Both of these views show the Galata Tower dominating the defense walls extending down to the Golden Horn on one side and to the Bosphorus on the other. After the conquering of Constantinopolis, Galata went into Ottoman rule and with the treaty, Genoese became Ottoman subjects. The walls surrounding Galata, some parts of the Galata Tower and Castellion Castle were pulled down and trenches were partly filled up and covered. Sultan Mehmet II (Fatih) appointed an official known as a voivode to govern Galata, which otherwise had a limited degree of autonomy for a time. The churches, the religious and fraternal organizations of Galata remained under the control of a Christian body known as the Magnifica Communita di Pera until 1682. Otherwise, all of the non-Muslims of Galata were under the jurisdiction of the various nations headed by the Greek Orthodox patriarch, the Armenian patriarch and the chief rabbi. Although Galata was governed for centuries by the Genoese, it was never an exclusively Italian town. There was a substantial Greek population even before the conquest, and in the century afterwards this was augmented by Turks, Greeks, Armenians and by Sephardic Jews from Spain, who were welcomed to the Ottoman Empire by Sultan Beyazid II (1481-1512) in the last decade of the 15th Century, along with Moorish refugees. Most of the walls were destroyed with the 1509 earthquake in the 16th Century along with Galata Tower but they were repaired during the reign of Beyazid II. (1481-1512). By the 17th Century, some of the foreign powers had built sumptuous embassies in Pera on the heights above Galata. Each embassy formed a seperate nation, which had under its protection various churches in both Pera and Galata. The various ethnic and religious groups tended to live in their own quarters. Ottoman government had allowed construction of houses on the walls and castles with the firmans it had enacted and established an order. As the ancient walls became obsolete, houses and work places were built adjacent to walls, especially to coastal walls. During the first centuries of the Ottoman Era, the Galata Tower was occupied by a detachment of Janissaries, the elite corps of the Turkish army. In the 16th Century, the tower was used to house prisoners of war, who were usually consigned as galley slaves in the Ottoman arsenal at Kasımpaşa on the Golden Horn. During the reign of Selim II (1566-1574), the Galata Tower was used as an observation point of astronomy. Galata Walls, which survived until the 19th Century were run down in 1864, in accordance with the urban transformation policies of the era and with the ruling of 6th Department of Municipality of Galata, to enlarge and the trenches were filled up and covered. A program was then instituted to modernize Galata, with gas-lamps for street-lighting and municipal services for police, fire, post, communications and sewage. The streets of the medieval Genoese town were identified with street signs for the firts time in 1864, some of them up till recent years retaining the names by which they had been known for centuries. One of the oldest of these is Voyvoda Caddesi, the Street of the Voivode (now known as Bankalar Caddesi) and Yüksek Kaldırım Caddesi, the Great Step-Street, which had its steps removed in the interest of the automobile. The only Byzantine remnant is a vast substructure believed to be the dungeon of the Castle of Galata (Castellion Castle), now known as the Yer altı Camii, the Underground Mosque. What remains of the Genoese town today are the Galata Tower, some ruined remnants of fortification towers, short stretches of the curtain walls, a gateway, remnants of the Palazzo del Commune and a few other buildings, three Latin churches, one of which was converted to a mosque after the Turkish conquest, named as Arap Camii. This study constitues a step towards the identification and documentation of the remains of walls, castles and their protection. It contains research on the literature regarding the subject, documentation studies regarding the traces of walls, route of the Walls of Galata and restitution studies regarding the castles on the walls and proposals regarding measures for protecting remains of the walls.