{"id":27993,"date":"2010-12-04T04:57:24","date_gmt":"2010-12-04T02:57:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turkishforum.com.tr\/en\/content\/?p=27993"},"modified":"2014-01-05T22:59:30","modified_gmt":"2014-01-05T20:59:30","slug":"istanbuls-woes-under-one-burned-roof","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/2010\/12\/04\/istanbuls-woes-under-one-burned-roof\/","title":{"rendered":"Istanbul’s woes under one burned roof"},"content":{"rendered":"
I\u015eIL E\u011eR\u0130KAVUKISTANBUL – H\u00fcrriyet Daily NewsWhat will happen to the Haydarpa\u015fa train station following a devastating fire is only part of a larger debate about redevelopment efforts in Istanbul and whether city landmarks will be privatized or preserved for public use. Architects say current plans lack vision and focus on making profits, while local residents fret about the fate of a beloved symbol<\/div>\n
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Firefighters stand next to the Haydarpa\u015fa train station after a fire destroyed its roof. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah G\u00dcREL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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The building celebrated in literature and film as a gateway to Istanbul has become a stage for a real-life drama about the city\u2019s future as theories and accusations swirl in the wake of a devastating fire.<\/p>\n

The Nov. 28 blaze at Haydarpa\u015fa train station destroyed the roof of the century-old structure in Istanbul\u2019s Kad\u0131k\u00f6y district; a few days later, it drew a crowd of architects, environmentalists, city planners and concerned citizens to a cramped meeting room in the same neighborhood to discuss the fate of the famous building.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany people believe this fire didn\u2019t happen so simply,\u201d Sami Y\u0131lmazt\u00fcrk, a member of the board of the Istanbul Chamber of Architects, said at the meeting Thursday, which he helped organize. \u201cI think this is part of a plan to make city officials forget about Haydarpa\u015fa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Immediately following the fire, the repairs being done to the building\u2019s roof came under scrutiny, with some claiming that the work had not received proper authorization.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe repair work was being done without getting the approval from the Kad\u0131k\u00f6y Mayor\u2019s Office,\u201d the district\u2019s mayor, Selami \u00d6zt\u00fcrk, said in a press meeting. \u201cThose responsible for such neglect will be punished.\u201d<\/p>\n

Redevelopment plans<\/p>\n

Though the fire attracted the attention of the public and the media to the fate of the train station, the controversy over Haydarpa\u015fa and the area around it has been ongoing since 2004. To date, public announcements have been made about two different \u201crestructuring\u201d plans, one by the German company\u00a0Drees & Sommer and the other by the \u00c7al\u0131k Group, a Turkish firm known for its close ties to the ruling Justice and Development Party, AKP.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to design the whole area in a contemporary Ottoman style,\u201d \u015eefik Birkiye, an architect with the \u00c7al\u0131k Group, said at one point of his firm\u2019s proposal. \u201cWe also want to develop an artificial strait with artificial canals, like in Venice, and we want to build seven copper towers to become the symbols of Istanbul.\u201d<\/p>\n

The municipality initially agreed to both projects, but had to subsequently cancel them due to strong public opposition. In 2007, the Haydarpa\u015fa train station was declared a first-degree historical monument, but two years later, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality created a new construction plan, the details of which remain unknown to the public. The new plan is currently awaiting approval from the Council of Monuments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are waiting for the results from the council,\u201d an official from the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality told the H\u00fcrriyet Daily News & Economic Review. \u201cOnly then we will announce the details to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Istanbul Chamber of Architects is also waiting to see what the council will decide. \u201c[Haydarpa\u015fa] is a first-degree historical monument, yet the Mayor\u2019s Office insists on ruining it,\u201d the chamber\u2019s M\u00fccella Yap\u0131c\u0131 told the Daily News. \u201cUntil then [when the council decides] we want to concentrate on restoring the building.\u201d<\/p>\n

Privatization threat<\/p>\n

Though it is no longer the bustling transit hub of days gone by, when the elegant 19th-century building represented the gateway to Anatolia, Haydarpa\u015fa still serves as both a train station and ferry port and holds an important place in many locals\u2019 hearts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have lived in Kad\u0131k\u00f6y since I was born and I see this building like a close friend or relative,\u201d G\u00fcher Bay\u0131r, a member of the \u201cSay No to the Haydarpa\u015fa Project\u201d Facebook group, told the Daily News. \u201cEvery time I see it now, my eyes fill with tears. To me it is one of the most beautiful symbols of the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

U\u011fur Duman, another Kad\u0131k\u00f6y resident, agreed. \u201cI have lived in this city for 50 years and it breaks my heart to see the Haydarpa\u015fa building like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

This emotional connection with Haydarpa\u015fa is reflected in the dozens of films and books in which the station is a gateway to Istanbul for those stepping foot in the big city for the first time. The building has served as a backdrop in movies by classic Turkish directors such as Ertem E\u011filmez and younger ones such as Tayfun Pirselimo\u011flu.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe image of Haydarpa\u015fa in Turkish movies best represents for us the immigration flow from the villages to the cities in Turkey,\u201d said writer Mahzun Do\u011fan. \u201cIt represents a new lifestyle, full of hope and dreams for the rural people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supporters of preserving the building\u2019s current form and function fear that the fire will pose a setback to their efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mayor\u2019s office wants to cancel Haydarpa\u015fa\u2019s function as a train station and wants to privatize the area,\u201d Hasan Bekta\u015f, from the Haydarpa\u015fa Solidarity Platform, told the Daily News. \u201cWhether or not [the fire] was intentional, they might use it to completely cancel train services and isolate the area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Yap\u0131c\u0131 of the Istanbul Chamber of Architects: \u201cThey are now announcing that it will take at least two years to repair the damaged parts. We need to make sure train services are not limited while the work is being done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Profit or loss?<\/p>\n

City planners say the Haydarpa\u015fa issue is only part of a larger debate about the architectural transformation of Istanbul.\u00a0\u201cIt is not just about Haydarpa\u015fa but about the whole city, which is being closed off to the public,\u201d Murat Cemal Yal\u00e7\u0131ntan, a city planner and a professor at Istanbul\u2019s Mimar Sinan University, told the Daily News.<\/p>\n

\u201cIstanbul has been being restructured since the 1990s and many of the public spaces in the centers have been transformed into secured areas,\u201d Yal\u00e7\u0131ntan said. \u201cI am not against transformation, but I am against how it is being done by the city administration. Instead of working with experts, universities and nongovernmental organizations, the city administration is only valuing projects that are profit-oriented.\u201d<\/p>\n

A council needs to be formed to oversee how urban-transformation projects are carried out in Istanbul, architect Korhan G\u00fcm\u00fc\u015f told the Daily News. \u201cRight now they are just handled based on how much income they would generate,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is no creative thinking, despite the fact that these are all industrial or cultural heritage sites.\u201d<\/p>\n

G\u00fcm\u00fc\u015f cited the example of the Ruhr region in Germany as a better model for carrying out redevelopment projects. \u201cThe Ruhr used to be a heavily industrial zone, yet when transforming that area, they first set up a committee to determine a vision for the new plan,\u201d he said. \u201cFirst we need to develop a vision; only then can we start planning.\u201d<\/p>\n

As such debates continue, citizen activists plan to keep fighting to save Haydarpa\u015fa, organizing a march Sunday from the Kad\u0131k\u00f6y port to the train station. \u201cThey are trying hard to remove Haydarpa\u015fa from our collective memory,\u201d said Bekta\u015f from the Haydarpa\u015fa Solidarity Platform. \u201cBut we will continue to resist.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u015eIL E\u011eR\u0130KAVUKISTANBUL – H\u00fcrriyet Daily NewsWhat will happen to the Haydarpa\u015fa train station following a devastating fire is only part of a larger debate about redevelopment efforts in Istanbul and whether city landmarks will be privatized or preserved for public use. Architects say current plans lack vision and focus on making profits, while local residents […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":27994,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[4582],"class_list":["post-27993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-turkey","tag-haydarpasa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}