{"id":29551,"date":"2010-12-23T17:26:00","date_gmt":"2010-12-23T15:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turkishforum.com.tr\/en\/content\/?p=29551"},"modified":"2014-01-06T00:39:47","modified_gmt":"2014-01-05T22:39:47","slug":"ottoman-architecture-not-just-from-armenians-and-greeks-says-historian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/2010\/12\/23\/ottoman-architecture-not-just-from-armenians-and-greeks-says-historian\/","title":{"rendered":"Ottoman architecture not just from Armenians and Greeks, says historian"},"content":{"rendered":"
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ISTANBUL – Anatolia News Agency<\/p>\n

Two recent exhibitions on Istanbul’s Armenian and Greek architects have caused a debate among experts on Ottoman architecture. While some say there is an attempt to show that Istanbul\u2019s recent architectural heritage belongs to Armenians and Greeks only, others think that such a prejudiced approach goes against academic objectivity<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Selman Can has studied Ottoman architecture extensively.<\/p>\n

Turkish architects have been ignored in architectural exhibits opened as part of the 2010 European Capital of Culture, and curators have tried to show that Istanbul\u2019s architectural heritage solely belongs to Armenians and Greeks, according to an art historian.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are attempts to show Istanbul\u2019s architectural heritage is merely the preserve of Armenians and Greeks. There are already many events on the same issue,\u201d said Atat\u00fcrk University Fine Arts Faculty member Associate Professor Selman Can, who researches Ottoman architecture and art and is due to soon publish a book on the issue. \u201cIsn\u2019t there any structure built by Turks in the city? I want the supporters of these exhibition projects to ask themselves this question.\u201d<\/p>\n

Can made the comments in response to two exhibitions about Istanbul\u2019s Greek and Armenian architects that recently opened as part of the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture events.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, Can said he had spent years sifting through the thousands of archive documents regarding Ottoman architecture. He said because few Turkish art historians can speak or read Ottoman Turkish, very few of the documents have been evaluated.<\/p>\n

He said one of the exhibitions recently opened as part of the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture events, titled \u201cArmenian Architects of Istanbul in the Era of Westernization\u201d that features 100 photos of buildings reportedly built by 40 Armenian architects, who lived in Istanbul at the end of 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.<\/p>\n

Can said the archive documents showed that the real architects of the structures, most of which are claimed to belong to the Balyan family, were different.<\/p>\n

\u201cA similar exhibition titled \u2018Greek Architects of Istanbul in the Era of Westernization\u2019 was opened for Greeks,\u201d Can said. \u201cWhy is the third step of these projects not Istanbul\u2019s Turkish architects?\u201d<\/p>\n

Arguing that the exhibitions did not show the truth, Can said the most radical change in the 19th century in Ottoman architecture was that construction projects were put up for tender.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this period, Armenians and Greeks won a big part of these tenders because they had financial power. Particularly, the Balyan family carried out a contracting business for three generations. The Balyans owned the first official construction company in the era worth more than 1 million Ottoman gold coins.\u201d<\/p>\n

Can said the Balyans were the biggest contractor family at the end of 19th century and most of their projects were built in collaboration with different architects.<\/p>\n

Touching on the Armenians, Can said: \u201cBy exaggerating their works, they succeeded in promoting their community very well. They had international support and architecture was used as a tool to form an identity and a nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Imperial architecture<\/p>\n

Art Historian S\u00fcleyman Faruk G\u00f6nc\u00fco\u011flu said the structures built at the turn of the last century were in the empire\u2019s style of architecture at the time.<\/p>\n

Ottoman architecture was a reflection of the civilization, he said, adding that the last civilization in the world was the Ottomans and that all those following it were merely cultural hegemonies.<\/p>\n

He said Istanbul architecture included many structures built under the coordination of Seyyit \u0130smail Z\u00fcht\u00fc Altunizade.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the buildings claimed to be built by Armenian architects were built under the coordination of Altunizade. When we look at 19th century Ottoman structures, the D\u00fcyunu-i Umumiye [Istanbul Men\u2019s School], Haydarpa\u015fa Hospital, \u015ei\u015fli Etfal Hospital, Cibali Tekel Building [currently Kadir Has University] are all from the Sultan Abd\u00fclhamit II period,\u201d G\u00f6nc\u00fco\u011flu said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI agree with [Can] because he expresses his ideas about archival documents,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said such exhibitions showed the richness of Turkish architecture but should not be limited to a certain community. \u201cThis is to deny the architectural understanding of the Ottoman civilization and will cause unnecessary debates,\u201d G\u00f6nc\u00fco\u011flu said.<\/p>\n

Archive documents should be primary source<\/p>\n

Marmara University Faculty of Literature member Professor Sel\u00e7uk M\u00fclayim said some members of the Balyan family were contractors and others were master builders.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome did not have an architectural education. Archive documents should be based on this issue. The architectural style of a structure is not important; they all reflect Ottoman identity. But art historians search for the architecture of a building. As a result, all of the 19th century buildings show us the Ottoman identity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Speaking about the debates, Mimar Sinan University Architectural Restoration Department member Professor Suphi Saat\u00e7i said regardless of their identity, Balyans or others, all of those architects served the same empire.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Balyans were not the architects; they were contractors. Regardless, they served on this land as Ottoman citizens,\u201d Saat\u00e7i said, adding that such debates were not dangerous. \u201cDiscussing whether the Balyans were real architects or not is not a problem. A scientific debate is always useful.\u201d<\/p>\n

A prejudiced approach<\/p>\n

Bosphorus University History Department member Associate Professor Ahmet Ersoy said it would be prejudiced to attempt to exclude Ottoman Greeks and Armenians from the heritage of Ottoman architecture and culture. He said such an approach would go against academic objectivity.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one can deny that Greeks and Armenians had a central role in the Ottoman construction sector. The Balyans were the most effective and productive family as contractors and investors in this field. The main problem is how the archives are used. Raw information in an archive can be manipulated by prejudiced researchers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Real architects according to archives<\/p>\n

A number of buildings that have been attributed to the Armenian Balyan family actually belong to others, according to Atat\u00fcrk University Fine Arts Faculty member Associate Professor Selman Can, who studies the issue.<\/p>\n

– The Sultan Mahmut II Tomb does not belong to Garabed Balyan, but to engineer Abd\u00fclhalim Efendi.<\/p>\n

– The Bayezit Fire Tower, Rami Barracks and Ortak\u00f6y Mosque do not belong to Senekerim Balyan, Kirkor Balyan and Niko\u011fos Balyan, but to Seyyit Abd\u00fclhalim Efendi.<\/p>\n

– The Mecidiye Barracks (Ta\u015fk\u0131\u015fla) and Harbiye Military Museum do not belong to Serkis Balyan, but to British architect William James Smith.<\/p>\n

– The Y\u0131ld\u0131z Hamidiye Mosque does not belong to Serkis Balyan, but to the Greek Nikolaki Kalfa.<\/p>\n

– The Sarayburnu storehouses do not belong to Simon Balyan, but to German August Jasmund.<\/p>\n

– The Baltaliman\u0131 Palace (B\u00fcy\u00fck Re\u015fit Pa\u015fa Palace) does not belong to Sarkis Balyan, but to Italian Gaspare Fossati.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ISTANBUL – Anatolia News Agency Two recent exhibitions on Istanbul’s Armenian and Greek architects have caused a debate among experts on Ottoman architecture. While some say there is an attempt to show that Istanbul\u2019s recent architectural heritage belongs to Armenians and Greeks only, others think that such a prejudiced approach goes against academic objectivity Selman […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":29552,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[4838],"class_list":["post-29551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-turkey","tag-ottoman-architecture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29551","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=29551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29551\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}