İstanbul Limanları'nın Modernizasyonu: Dersaadet Rıhtım Ve Anadolu Demiryolları Şirketlerinin İnşa Faaliyetleri (1890-1934)

Abstract

İstanbul limanlarının modernleştirilmesi gerektiği düşüncesi Sanayi Devrimi’nin yol açtığı ve 19. yüzyılın ikinci yarısında hız kazanan buharlı gemicilik ile birlikte Doğu Akdeniz’de ticari faaliyetlerin artmasıve Osmanlı Devleti’nde 1854’te demiryolları inşasının başlaması temelinde yükselmektedir. Ancak bu tarihten önce de rıhtım ve yapılarının iyileştirilmesine yönelik girişimlerin olduğu görülmektedir. Örneğin 1848’de Sultan Abdülmecid o sırada İstanbul’da faaliyet gösteren mimarlardan, Gaspare&Giuseppe Fossati’den ve William Smith’ten, yeni rıhtım tesisleri için planlar ve maliyet hesabı hazırlamalarını istemiştir. Aynı yıl Karaköy rıhtımı tamir edilmiş ve Eminönü rıhtımı yenilenmiştir. 1854’te Kahire-İskenderiyeve 1856 yılında İzmir-Aydın hattında demiryolları inşası üzerine imtiyazların verilmesi ile başlayan süreçte iskele şehirlerinin hinterlandları ile bağlantıları kurulmaya başlanmış ve rıhtım, liman ve tesislerin inşası önem kazanmıştır. 1853 Kırım Savaşı sırasında sevkiyat konusunda yaşanan zorluklar İstanbul’da modern rıhtımların inşa edilmesi gerektiği konusunun 1856 Paris Barış Konferansı’nda da ele alınmasına yol açmıştır. 1872’de Mişel Paşa, Galata ve Eminönü kıyılarının düzenlenmesi için Hükümet’e bir öneri sunmuş; ancak İmtiyaz Sözleşmesi, Dersaadet Rıhtım Şirketi ile 1890’da imzalanmıştır. İmtiyaz Şartnamesi’nde taş veya tuğladan kâgir olarak yapılması öngörülen binaların Rıhtım Şirketi’nce betonarme sistemde yapılmak istenmesi konularında Şirket ve Hükümet arasında ihtilaf yaşanmıştır. Binaların betonarme sistemde yapılmasının onayı Osmanlı’da betonarme binaların ortaya çıkışını başlatması yönüyle de önem kazanmaktadır. İstanbul tarafında ise 1871’de yolcu taşımacılığına başlayan ve İstanbul’u Avrupa’ya bağlayacak demiryolunun son istasyonunun limanla bağlantısı olmayan Yedikule olması başlangıç noktasının Sirkeci olması konusunu gündeme getirmiştir. Rumeli Demiryolu’nun Sirkeci’ye kadar uzatılmasıyla ihtiyaç duyulan esas istasyon binasının inşası için hazırlanan 1872 ve 1873 tarihli projeler istasyon binasının yanı sıra ambar, rıhtım ve antrepo inşasını da öngörmektedir. Haydarpaşa-İzmit demiryolu hattının kurulmasıyla Haydarpaşa’da artan yoğunluk burada bir limanın ve tesislerinin inşasını zorunlu kılmıştır. Demiryolunun gelişimi ile beraber Haydarpaşa’da liman inşa ve işletme imtiyazı Almanlara verilmiştir. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti’nin kurulmasının ardından Anadolu Demiryolları Şirketi 1924’te, Dersaadet Rıhtım Şirketi 1934’te hükümet tarafından satın alınmıştır. Bu konu iktisat tarihi alanındaki bazı çalışmaların da ele aldığı konulardan biridir ve bu çalışmalarda Osmanlı’da doğrudan yatırım yapan yabancı sermayenin izleri Anadolu Demiryollarıve Dersaadet Rıhtım Şirketleri aracılığıyla aranmaktadır.

The idea to modernize Istanbul Ports has its roots in increased economic activity in the eastern Mediterranean because of the use of steamers as a result of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century and the intensive railway construction, which started in 1854 in the Ottoman Empire. But even before 1854, evidence of local improvements in Istanbul Ports are observable: For example, architect William James Smith recommended constructing port facilities. In 1848, Sultan Abdulmecid ordered the preparation of drawings and cost estimates for the possible quays from the architect Fossati. Also that year, Galata Quays were renovated and new quays were constructed in Eminonu. New quays were built in Galata one year later. In 1854, with the construction of the Cairo-Alexandria and Izmir-Aydin railways, port cities improved their connection to their hinterland and this situation led to the construction of new ports and quay facilities in several port cities. The construction of quays and ports in several port cities such as Smyrna, Thessaloniki and Beirut was started. In 1853, there were many difficulties during the Crimean War, this situation revealed the need for modern ports in Istanbul. As a result of this situation, construction of new port facilities in Istanbul was discussed in the Paris Congress in 1856. In Istanbul’s historical peninsula, the terminal station of the Rumelia railways was in Yedikule, but then Sirkeci became the terminus because of its connection to the quays. In 1879, Michel Pasha, who was the head of the Ottoman Lighthouse Authority, offered a suggestion in order to make improvements on the coast of Galata and Eminonu. A concession which aimed to modernize the port of Golden Horn was signed between Michel Pasha and the Ottoman Empire, but this concession did not come into force. A reason this concession did not come into force can be that Michel Pacha could not find an investor for this project. In 1885 an Irade was issued based on the idea which emphasized that the quay construction activities must start again. This Irade compares Istanbul with Thessaloniki and emphasizes that Istanbul needed to have modern port facilities like Thessaloniki. It can be said that after this Irade, in 1890 a concession to modernize the Golden Horn Port was signed. This agreement includes references to the law, international relations, urban history and so on, but the concession signed with the Quays Company in 1890 caused a disagreement between Quays Company and the Ottoman government about the construction method of the new buildings. Quays Company insisted on a method based on the Hennebique method (reinforced concrete). In the end, the request to build the new buildings in Hennebique method was accepted. That is also an important milestone for the construction history in Turkey, because one of the the early concrete building was Galata Custom House that was built in the scope of quay project and it can be said that the approval of Hennebique method led to construct more concrete building afterwards. The architects of new buildings are unknown, but some researchers assume that Alexandre Vallaury was the architect of Eminonu Custom House due to the similarities between Thessaloniki Custom House and Eminonu Custom House. The architects of other buildings are also unknown, but it can be considered that their architects were brought from France. The quays of Galata were built between 1890-1895. During the construction of Eminonu Quays several collapses occurred. After collapses occurred in 1898, Guérard, who was well known for several port projects as a design engineer or a consultant, was invited to prepare a project. Before 1898, he worked for some projects such as Constanta, Thessaloniki, Danube, and Montevideo ports. According to his new Sirkeci quay plan, the previous plan’s zigzag shape was changed and the quay line was planned as a straight line. The quays of Eminonu were built between 1894-1900. Many articles in newspapers issued during the same period show that quay constructions were ongoing. Their titles were mostly “Les quais de Constantinople” and these news were mostly issued in “Journal de la Chambre de Commerce de Constantinople”. In the scope of this thesis, some news issued in magazines and newspapers were searched to understand the frame of the port construction activities. For example, the magazines Génie Civil Ottoman (1912), The Engineer (1912) and the newspapers Le Moniteur Oriental (1890), La Turquie (1890), The Levant Herald and Eastern Express (1891 and 1899), İkdam (1900), Cumhuriyet (1926 and 1929) were reviewed. It can be seen that La Turquie emphasizes the importance of quays and the foreign investment. When the maps between 1890-1934 were reviewed, changes of districts can be observed. In the Ottoman Archives of the Prime Minister’s Office some outlines of the quay plans were found and it can be said that in quay plans the streets were planned as a continuation of the historical Galata streets. The effect of the new buildings are also another issue that catches attention with their impact on the city, both layouts and façades. Concession of railways in Ottoman territory was important to control an area and this was also a reason to argue. France, England and Germany wanted to take a concession for railway construction, because getting a concession from the Ottomans also meant obtaining a control over an area and its economy. After building Haydarpasa Train Station on the Anatolian side of the Bosphorus, Haydarpasa district became more important for trade activities, but as its capacity was limited, in Derince, which is on the Haydarpaşa-İzmit railway route, another port was constructed. In a German magazine called Deutsche Bauzeitung (1904) a plan of Derince Port is found, but Derince Port could not be sufficient for Haydarpasa operations, it was clear that there was a need to build a new port in Haydarpasa district. It can be said that the railway and port projects of Haydarpasa were not considered as a single project, but when the insufficient capacity of Haydarpasa became more obvious, the Haydarpasa Port project was considered. About constructing Haydarpasa Port, it is seen that France reacted against the possibility of granting a concession to Germany. Between the many competitions, the Ottoman Empire decided to cooperate with Germany to build Anatolian railways, but that was also against England’s Middle East policy. It catches the attention that it was possible to cancel to build a port in Haydarpasa district, but in the end Haydarpasa was selected as a place where a port would build. Haydarpasa Port was built between 1900-1903. Development of Haydarpaşa district has gain the momentum after the port construction When studying the maps, it is clear that port construction changed Haydarpasa’s face. For instance in 1906 Goad Map around Haydarpasa there are many buildings including a restaurant, ateliers, bar, hotel, theater and so on. Some magazines such as Zeitschrift für Bauwesen (1903), Deutsche Bauzeitung (1904), Le Génie Civil (1904), Dinglers Polytechnisches Journal (1907), La Revue Hebdomadaire et son supplément illustré (1907), Zeitschrift für Technik und Industrie in der Turkei (1916) and the newspapers Journal des Debats Politiques et Littéraires (1899) and Le Figaro (1899) were also reviewed to understand the modernization process of Haydarpasa. After the Turkish War of Independence, the new Republic of Turkey, acquired the Anatolian Railway Company in 1924 and Quays Company in 1934. This is a topic also studied by economic historians and in their studies, the impact of the foreign capital in the Ottoman Empire is searched in the foundation and the operations of Anatolian Railway and Quay Companies. In this study it was aimed to understand the impact of modernization of Istanbul Ports on the city. It can be said that their effect can be seen not only in geography, international politics, economy or law, but also in urban history and in our collective memory.