[URBAN BEAT] Living dangerously in Cihangir

Between the Cihangir Camii and Tophane-i Amire, there are scattered ruins about which little is known. Some scholars claim they date from the late-Byzantine period; others insist they are late Ottoman. Their original purpose is uncertain.

Some time ago, historian Sara Nur Yıldız was walking in this part of Cihangir and noticed an earthen mound on the edge of a construction site at the bottom of Cihangir Yokuşu, just below the Cihangir Camii. “I recognized the shape of the mound and was certain it concealed something important,” said Yıldız. A few days later, on a Sunday morning, she saw workers digging into the side of the mound. By the next day, they had uncovered the structure and had started knocking it down. “I told them to stop,” Yıldız recalled. “I said what they were doing is against the law, but they refused.” Yıldız, a member of İstanbul Bilgi University's history department, turned for help to city officials, who directed her to the Preservation Commission (İstanbul Koruma Bölge Kurulu). There, she filed a petition, and by 4:00 p.m., the workers received orders to stop.

Construction of the new apartment building was interrupted for two months while a plan for preserving the archeological structure was completed. “The site has been preserved. It's there for scholars to study in the future,” said Yıldız. “The problem,” added Yıldız, “is that the process is too slow.” In the time it took her to alert the proper authorities and for these authorities to evaluate her petition and communicate that decision to the workers, half of the structure was demolished. “There should be an emergency stop,” said Yıldız, calling for emergency protection so that workers cannot rush to destroy a historic relic before the bureaucratic process runs its course.

Across the street from the archeological relic discovered by Yıldız, foundation work for a new building revealed old walls and part of what may have been a bath. In February, the Beyoğlu Municipality gave construction company Sargın İnşaat permission to continue building on the site (which sits between Kumrulu and İlyas Çelebi streets). Last month, however, an incident at the site damaged not just these historic structures but the foundation of the neighboring Volkan Apartment as well. The Preservation Commission, which learned of the damage on July 20, issued a decision 11 days later ordering a halt to construction, restoration of the historic remains to their condition in 2006, implementation of measures necessary for the safety of the adjacent buildings and pursuit of legal action.

This is a victory for those concerned about the preservation of İstanbul's cultural heritage. For the residents of the neighboring buildings, however, the story is more complicated.

Claire Berlinski, a journalist who lives in Volkan Apartment, said that as soon as the damage occurred last month, residents were evacuated from the building. Berlinski also said she and other residents were not allowed to return to the building until four days later. She added, however, that it was never clear why residents were allowed back into the building. Is the building safe? No legal or professional authority has commented on the soundness of the building -- three weeks after the incident occurred. The owner of Volkan Apartment said last week that a structural analysis should be available by mid-August. The owner also commented that construction of the new building should continue in order to improve the soundness of her building.  

Several architects have expressed concern about the soundness of these buildings. Even before the severe damage to the foundation of Volkan Apartment in last month's incident, excavation of the slope for the foundation of the new building had already reduced the stability of the adjacent buildings. One highly regarded architect recently told Berlinski, “The building you are living in is unsafe; get out.”

This same architect observed that at least 60 percent of the buildings in İstanbul are structurally unsound. Other experts agree.

Density of life, layers upon layers, life upon death: we know not over whose footsteps we tread. İstanbul's archeological history nurtures the soul; its heritage demands protection. And the city's residents -- adults, children, rich, poor -- deserve safe housing. Let the relics of the past, not unsafe construction practices, remind İstanbul's residents that life is fleeting.