Yeşilköy, tarihi merkez'de (Köyiçi), sosyal, yapısal ve kentsel oluşumun irdelenmesi

Abstract

Başdöndürücü bir hızla gelişen teknoloji toplumların kültürel yapısını temsil eden mimari oluşumları aynı hızla potasında eritme eğilimindedir. İnsanın doğal yapısından gelen koruma tutkusu bu eğilime bir tepki denebilecek tarzda savunma mekanizmasını gündeme getirmektedir. Türkiye gibi kültürel birikimleri çeşitli dönemlerde dünyayı etkileyen önemli uygarlıkların birbiri ardına bıraktığı eserlerden oluşan ülkelerde kültürel kimliğin korunması, dünya tarihinin doğru tanımlanması gibi evrensel bir soruna da ışık tutmaktadır. Bu büyük uygarlıkların hepsine yüzyıllar boyu başkent olan İstanbul, doğal olarak en zengin kültürel birikimleri içeren bir tarih kentidir. Özellikle sur içinde yoğunlaşan kültürel kalıntılar sur dışında daha çok diğer kültür merkezleriyle bağlantı sağlayan ulaşım yolları üze rinde görülebilmektedir. Tez kapsamında incelemeye alınan Yeşilköy Yerleşimi bu nitelikte bir gelişim alanıdır. Tezin ilk bölümünde Dünya' da ve Türkiye'de koruma kavramları ve gelişimleri özelinde sadeleştirmeye gidilmiştir. İkinci bölümde Yeşilköy tarihi çevre değerleri açısından korunarak geliştirilmesi gereken bir yöre olarak incelenmiştir. Üçüncü bölümde Yeşilköy içinde seçilen Köyiçi Mahallesi'nin sınırları belirlenmiş ve yapılan tespitler doğrultusunda mimari özellikleri irdelenmiştir. Dördüncü bölümde bu yörenin korunarak geliştirilmesi için önerilen yeni kullanım ve tasarlama ilkeleriyle buna bağlı olarak çalışmanın makro boyutlarda getirebileceği ilkeler araştırılmış ve çalışmanın uygulanabilirliği tartışılmıştır. Ekler bölümünde ise yörede yapılan rölöve ve sosyal analiz çalışmalarını içeren çalışmalar yeralmaktadır.

I think it appropriate to start this summary by referring to the rapid social and economic developments taking place in our time, and changing the outlook of communities with their reflections on all walks of our lives. I find it appropriate, because the subject matter of this study deals with the preservation and protection of the cultural, social and architectural identity of a given district, namely of Yeşilköy, in Istanbul, the ancient city undergoing a tremendous change in the process. We know from reading the history books that ancient civilizations developed over centuries, had with the passage of time, been buried in the ashes of history with all their might, splendor an glory. In our day, however, with the advanced communications techniques available, we are experiencing much more rapid changes taking place within relatively shorter periods of time compared with the past. And in the process we go through the rapid deterioration of our historical, cultural legacy in the face of social and economic developments changing the characteristics of our old settlementis. The disorderly and haphazard structuring of the major cities in the world taking place, especially, - after the Industrial Revolution, have reached disturbing dimensions in time and as a result preservation and protection of values accepted as cultural legacy of communities, have been ever since, on the agenda of the countries concerned about maintaining their cultural identity. The idea of preservation and protection of. historical values was first introduced into the Turkish setting in 1973 with the passage of Law No. 1710, conserning "Eski Eserler Kanunu". This also points to the begining of an era where the attempts at preservation and protection would no longer be limited to the historical monuments but would cover other sites and works of value as well. exte arou d.iff cond all with gene eval hist shou In nden nd 1 eren itio shar con rail uati oric 1 al the for 970' t ap ns c ed t sist y sh on o al, c so b European countries where attempts have been the protection of historical centers, startinc s and continuing to this date, naturally proaches have been adopted depending on the haracteristic of each country. However, they he idea that attempts should be undertaken ency and on a con.tinous basis. Another view, ared in this respect., was that in addition to f environments under protection with their ultural, and esthetic dimensions, such areas e given economic functions. As we all know, Istanbul is an ancient, historical city housing a rich cultural legacy in its boundries, left over from the major civilisations which had emerged in the course of history, in this part of the world. Historical sites, in the main are located within the city walls and on the arteries connecting the city with the other centers of the world. Yeşilköy was chosen for this study because of its unique characteristics from the standpoint of protection and preservation. First of all, it provides a good example of settlement units outside the city walls, seco secondly, deterioration of historical site bay converting into business centers in time, mostly because of speculative motives, usually happening, in such places, have adopted a different dimension here. Settlement units outside the city walls flourished, in particular, after the first two hundred years of the Ottoman Empire. We thought it worthwhile to study one such unit to provide an insight into the various social, cultural and economic conditions existing in those times. Over the centuries, Yeşilköy has been a prominent summer resort because of its location near the sea side, at times it was also employed as an important military base. Our study concentrates its attention on Köyiçi Mahalle at Yeşilköy as an interesting location deserving protection and preservation, because of its unique aspects. It is one of those rare places where structural deterioration was kept at a minimum. Köyiçi also has a significant priority, because the first building built, xi the first street opened and the first "Mahalle" (Resident area) established at Yeşilköy, happens to be here. Following the setting up of the first place of worship at Yeşilköy which may be seen as a sign of first social movement, Köyiçi developed as a sea side village, inhabited by the followers of the same sect. However, since it wav located on an important highway connecting a city such as Istanbul, to Europe with a strategic importance all through the centuries and also the p possibility of using the sea transport, Yeşilköy soon developed to become a social center. Yeşilköy still maintains this character of being a developed social center, in our day. with the Italian Catholic Church, the Greek and Armenian churches and the Bezm-i Alem Mosque built later in the district. In spite of the decraese in the ethnic population and the corresponding decrease in the number of church goers which took place in time, Yeşilköy still remains to be a visiting place. Like in the o developments in hou face of the deterio deemed impossible t cases. When compar however, Yeşilköy p reasonable rates in the outlook of the underwent and is st Today, this area ho different social an sphere and provides heterogeneous group aspect of Yeşilköy because it constitu ideal gaining momen macro-level, to hav groups shall live i ther parts of the city, specu sing flourished in Yeşilköy, rated ancient buildings which o reconstruct in the majority ed with other parts of the ci rovided housing at relatively the process and because of t district from the social stan ill undergoing a tremendous c uses quite a number of groups d cultural backgrounds within an interesting example of he s living together in harmony, makes it an interesting place tes an example at micro-level turn in the nations of the wor e communities where different n peace and harmony. lative in the were of the ty, his fact, dpoint, hange. with its terogeneous This to study of an Id at ethnic When we look at the general architectural characteristics of the buildings in the district, the first thing thet comes to the forefront is thet there was an extensive use of land. This maybe attributable to the majority of the population being non-muslims. Houses were built in rows of adjacent buildings with narrow fronts. Design of the parallel streets cutting each other perpendicularly is also an indication of the non-muslim origin of the community. Population boom and fire disasters which took place Xll during the second half of the 19th. century, in Istanbul, resulted in a move towards suburbs. Ternds in turning back to the nature were observed as against living in closed quarters within the city boundries, among the population. The railway connection opened up a new era for Yeşilköy followed by a boom in the construction of houses. These were mostly separate dwelling units surrounded by large gardens to meet the demand of those days. At later stages, Yeşilköy showed a rapid development as a fashionable suburb, where houses with gardens full of trees and flowers are dominant. From the cultural standpoint Yeşilköy has always been cosmopolitan. Before 195Q's, in Köyiçi district in particular, 80?o of the population were Greeks, also small groups of catholics and muslims lived in the area. At later stages, Armenians and Suryanis moved in. Armenians preferred to live quitely who mainly engaged in artizan ship, at the same time acting as a bridge between the ancient texture of the community and its new structure. These two groups contributed to some degree, to social interaction among the population of different origins living in the area. The general conclusion to be derived from surveys and studies concernin the social structure of the area points to the fact that social groups of different origins exist without any interaction and without "melting in the same pot" in any way. In a community such as this, we think, cultural activities and programs joined by all would help a great deal in achieving some interaction among groups. When we look at the economic structure of the district we observe a considerable difference between Köyiçi and Yeşilköy, in general. Yeşilköy being a fashionable summer resort for years represent some considerable wealth which is reflected in the design of buildings and houses. Köyiçi Mahalle, however, was originally set up as a village-type setlement and it survived this modest social txture over the years. The fact that most of the land is owned by religious foundations resulted in diminishing yields and deprived the community from resources required for keeping up with the wear and tear of times. The law adopted in the year 1935 imposing restrictions on the repair and renewal work to be undertaken in facilities owned by Foundations of the xm Minority Groups constituted another factor impeding the development of Köyiçi Mahalle and resulted in leaving it to its fate. During the recent years in particular, people from low income groups moved into these historical buildings living their against paying a very small amount of rent. Under these circumstances, any recommendation for the reconstruction to be undertaken in the district should be acommpanied by solutions to the problem of repair and renewal of the buildings owned by the Foundations. Following, you will find a summary of our recommendations concernin the preservation and protection of the region through adopting new designs and modes of employment. - in principle two things should defin preserved in the district, its present socia the space layout. - Starting from the idea that preserva should be accompanied by adopting new functi district ought to be integrated with its soc enviroment. - Historical structures should be prot modes of employment threatening their origin - In order to prevent probable specula developments, restrictions should be imposed height and specifications of the buildings. - The style, form and characteristics buildings should be studied and used as a ba developing new designs and layouts. - Measures should be taken not to dest charecteristic of the district as a whole, i of developing suggestions for improvement. - A plan ought to be prepared for impr roads and transportation network to meet the the present day. itely be 1 texture and tion of a site ons, the ial and economic ected against al qualities, tive _ on density, of the existing sis in roy the n the course oving the demands of In conclusion, such districts with unique characteristics and historical values deserve special attention while working on plans to determine development trends of the city and special plans and suggestions should be worked out for such places for their protection and at the same time for their integration with the demands of the living city. Unless they are functional, historical sites put under protection, soon loose their justification for existence and become a financial burden for the city management. Structures with cultural and historical values ought to be actively used for functions suitable to their make up. This would also be desirable from the stand Point of making economic and practical use of the existing building stock of the city. xiv Yeşilköy, chosen for this study is left outside the historical sites of Istanbul, however, it is important because it reflects the cultural values of a suburb. In this survey, we have intenden to provide a proto-type for the protection of other sites. Therefore, the subject matter was dealt with in its many dimensions, also we have tried to develope practicle recommendations of an applicable nature.