26 O c to b e r 1989
by Aydın Boysan
Fish stalls on the street next to
‘innovator’ demolished the steps... The an tique shops in Yiiksekkaldirim used to sell violins. After, the stairs were replaced by a road, violins were no longer sold there.
There used to be a large park in Tepeba?i, with old trees. There were two small buildings in the park. These were the milestones of our stage culture: the Drama Section and the Comedy Section of the Ci ty Theatre.. The buildings and the park were demolished.
Some features of the area still remain, however. There is still a comedy going on here... A comedy of architecture... And a colossal one.
In front o f the now closed gate of Galatasaray Lisesi, there used to be a police station. True, this was Independence Street,
Çiçek Pasajı. The symbol o f Beyoğlu.
ed to frequent Çiçek Pasajı? I can im mediately think of Orhan Veli Kanık and Cihat Burak.
I remember one evening when we were sitting in the pre-kebab Çiçek Pasajı with Cihat Burak. Cavit was about 15 then. He was a waiter in those days. We called Nuri, to buy the three kokoreç skewers he was holding.
We used to go to bars, but we did not close the bar. We would close down a kokoreç shop. Nuri Usta was happy that we finished his three skewers. This was a sign of respect for his ‘masterwork’. Nuri em- barrased us by taking a taxi home in Kasım paşa and bringing another skewer as a compliment.
Koço, the waiter in Degustasyon o f the
A building on Istiklàl Caddesi
pre-kebab era, looked like an ambassador in his black tie. He could decipher your character in a glance. For all the years we’ve known him, he was always friendly. Among the regular attendants at our table were the composer Osman Nihat Akin, the well known tambour player Selahattin Pinar and pianist Feyzi Aslangil.
What about Taksim? This is the best example of obr mistaken concept of what a square should be.
Steps on Bereketzade Street in Beyoğlu
Demolish and clean up... Who knows that the city square only “ disintegrates” by growing... The square is an inner space... People live in the square... Restoration and protection of the old barracks in Taksim would contribute to the formation o f the square... The present park doesn’t mean much to a square.
A city square should be surrounded by buildings, trees and hills. How? A propor tional and harmonious development is im portant here... All of these form an “ internal space” that is “ living” , or that people “ live in” .
Now is the time for the funeral of park no. 2, above Dolmabahçe. The hole in its midpoint resembles a spaceship platform. It’s true a spaceship of 100 meters will take off from here... But it will not leave the earth... These and similar buildings are the gravestones o f the city of Istanbul, chosen prey for murder.
The development plans after 1950 destroyed the character of the city of Istan
bul. A new city was built, different from old Beyoğlu. It has an important role in this play.
Continued on Page 6 Is it possible for one to live without
missing places, events, or people? Yes, one can, but that would be a monotonous life... Man does feel a longing. Longing is the masterpiece of “ love” .
I’m the type that misses things. People say, I miss, the past, with its serenity and troubles... I even miss the day that has ended. I miss the coming century... I don’t care what people say.
«
head into the octagonal hole in one of them. It is almost Fifty years since I’ve started working in the office on Eski Gümrük Sokak in Galata. I was like a one-man or chestra. I used to design, calculate, follow up beraucratic procedures and even clean the office in the evening. Almost 20 years had elapsed after the proclamation of the Republic, but Galata had still not lost its 19th century character.
I had practically memorized all the streets in Galata. Live poultry would be brought to butchers and would be slaughtered, plucked and packed there. These narrow streets used to stink. Pastry was sold in places near the Kadıköy ferry station. Sandwiches were not known then.
One of the ‘innovative’ mayors enforc ed the usage of signs with semicircular sides to be placed in shopfronts. These signs were all of the same dimensions and describ ed the type of work done and listed the shop owner’s name. Even the brothels had to have these signs on their doors. Nobody knows why the owners all had floral names.. Hyacinth, violet... There must have been a trick here... There were no queues in front of brothels.
There were stairs at Yüsekkaldırım (on the hilly side) which led to Galata. Then, an
Avrupa Pasajı in Beyoğlu
but if you tried to shout after drinking too much, they would pull you in the station and then all you would hear would be the loud gramophone...
But I still miss the pool in front o f the police station.
As far as I’m concerned, the history of Pera may be divided into two parts: The pre kebab era and the post-kebap era...
Nisuaz, Lebon, Degüstasyon, Ab dullah, Markizand Nektar are no longer on İstiklâl Street.. Tokatliyan Hotel is now an office building.
Çiçek Pasajı was a lovely place. It was a spontaneous environment that suited the people who frequented it. It was so natural.. In other words no architect designed a place like Çiçek Pasajı. People used to cluster in groups and converse. W hat about the art crowd that us-Today, the objects of our longing are
Galata and Pera. Galata was the first settlement outside the city walls of Istanbul. Galata is the source of old Pera (Beyoğlu). Beyoğlu, is the source of all settlements from the end of the Golden Horn to the Rumeli Feneri on the Black sea.
Galata, founded under the sovereign ty o f a Genoese, Podesta, in the beginning o f the 15th century, had a musical name: “ Magnificia Communita di Pera” .
Evliya Çelebi in his characteristic style describes the wines, the entertainment places the pleasant atmosphere and the communi ty of Galata.
The honourable natural life of Galata Bridge will soon end. The Bridge was built in 1912. We used to sit in the waiting parlors under Galata Bridge to board the boat to Anadoluhisari. The blue sky was not reflected in the sea under the bridge... It was the “ green sea” . The bottom of the sea was visible. Once upon a time there were beach cabins under Galata Bridge.
The cast iron railings were symbols of the bridge in our minds. They gained eter nal life in postcards. What about the engrav ed steel plates? I can’t forget putting my
St. Antoine Church Page 8
FEA TUBE
1 Æ
Love and Nostalgia
Galata was the first settlement outside the city walls o f Istan
bul. It is the source o f old Pera (Beyoğlu). Beyoğlu is the source
o f all settlements from the end o f the Golden Horn to the
Rumeli Feneri on the Black Sea.
tU rkivem iz
Love and Nostalgia
Continued from Page S
One witnesses an irresponsible manipulation of all the elements of the city (except mosques).. This is not the city of Istanbul that we had inherited from our ancestors.
The co n stru ctio n work we see everywhere is neither a resurrection nor a revitalization.
“ Life” of the city is gone. The “ Spirit” we have lost will not return by calling. The truth is that a colossal monster will rise from the grave in the 21st century to haunt us in the places where the deceased “ Istanbul” had lived.
Kişisel Arşivlerde Istanbul Belleği Taha Toros Arşivi
