Architecture of Istanbul
The architecture of Istanbul describes a large mixture of structures which reflect the many influences that have made an indelible mark in all districts of the city. The ancient part of the city (the historic peninsula) is still partially surrounded by the Walls of Constantinople, erected in the 5th century by Emperor Theodosius II to protect the city from invasion. The architecture inside the city proper contains buildings and structures which came from Byzantine, Genoese, Ottoman, and modern Turkish sources. The city has many architecturally significant entities. Throughout its long history, Istanbul has acquired a reputation for being a cultural and ethnic melting pot. As a result, there are many historical mosques, churches, synagogues, palaces, castles and towers to visit in the city.
Ancient Greek and Roman structures
Serpent Column
One of the oldest monuments still surviving from antiquity is the
Column of Constantine
The most important monuments of Roman architecture in the city include the
Byzantine and Genoese structures
Walls of Constantinople and environs
Construction of the Walls of Constantinople began under Constantine the Great, who enlarged the previously existing walls of Byzantium in order to defend the new Roman capital city which quickly grew following its proclamation as Nova Roma. A new set of walls was built further west during the reign of Theodosius II, and rebuilt after an earthquake in 447 in their current shape. The sea walls in the Seraglio Point area, which have continuously existed since Lygos and Byzantium, are the oldest part of the city walls; while the double land walls of Theodosius II at the western end of the city are the strongest parts. The northwestern section of the land walls was built in 627, during the reign of Heraclius (610–641), in order to accommodate the suburb of Blachernae, and added to by later emperors.
The city walls had 55 gates, the largest of which was the Porta Aurea (Golden Gate), the ceremonial entrance gate used by the Emperors, at the southwestern end of the triple land walls, close to the Sea of Marmara. Unlike the city walls which were built of brick and limestone, the Porta Aurea was built of large clean-cut white marble blocks in order to distinguish it from the rest, and a quadriga with elephant statues stood on its top.[4] The doors of the Porta Aurea were made of gold, hence the name, which means "Golden Gate" in Latin.[4]
In 1458, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II built the
The most extant Byzantine structure which has survived from the reign of Heraclius is the Prison of Anemas,[5] incorporated into the city walls, at Blachernae. It is a huge castle-like structure with several towers and a network of underground Byzantine prisons.
Hagia Sophia and Little Hagia Sophia
The early Byzantine architecture followed the classical Roman model of domes and arches, but further improved these architectural concepts, as evidenced with the
The Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus (Little Hagia Sophia), which was the first church built by Justinian in Constantinople and constructed between 527 and 536, had earlier signaled such an improvement in the design of domed buildings, which require complex solutions for carrying the structure.
The present-day Hagia Irene (which was originally built by Constantine in the 4th century, but was later enlarged by Justinian in the 6th century) and the Basilica Cistern are also from this period.
Stoudios Monastery
Most Byzantine churches that were built or enlarged by Justinian in the 6th century were originally built in the 4th century at the time of Constantine. The oldest surviving Byzantine church in Istanbul with its original form is the
Hagia Irene
Following the decision by
Blachernae Palace and the Palace of Porphryogenitus
The Palace of the Porphyrogenitus (Turkish: Tekfur Sarayı), which is the only surviving part of the Blachernae Palace, dates from the period of the Fourth Crusade. In these years, on the northern side of the Golden Horn, the Dominican priests of the Catholic Church built the Church of Saint Paul in 1233.
Chora Church and Pammakaristos Church
The most important churches which were built after the Byzantines took Constantinople back in 1261 include the
The
Palazzo del Comune
Also in this period, the Genoese Podestà of Galata, Montano de Marinis, built the Palazzo del Comune (1314), a copy of the San Giorgio Palace in Genoa, which still stands in ruins on the back streets of Bankalar Caddesi in Galata, together with its adjacent buildings and numerous Genoese houses from the early 14th century.
Leander's Tower
Ancient
Galata Tower
The Genoese also built the Galata Tower, which they named as Christea Turris (Tower of Christ), at the highest point of the citadel of Galata, in 1348.
Ottoman structures
The Ottoman Turks built the
, from reaching Constantinople and helping the Byzantines during the Turkish siege of the city.Following the Ottoman conquest of the city, Sultan
Traditionally, Ottoman buildings were built of ornate wood. Only "state buildings" such as palaces and mosques were built of stone. Starting from the 18th and 19th centuries, wood was gradually replaced with stone as the primary building material, while traditional Ottoman architectural styles were gradually replaced with European styles, such as the
Starting from the early 19th century, the areas around
Thus, by the mid-19th century, the southern part of the Golden Horn (the historic peninsula of Constantinople) had a traditionally Ottoman Turkish appearance and population, while the northern part of the Golden Horn became more and more Europeanized both in terms of architecture and in terms of demographics. The Galata Bridge had become a connection between the oriental and occidental (southern and northern) parts of the European side of Istanbul.
The
Contemporary Architecture
Contemporary architecture is more common in the Levent Business District of Istanbul, which is located six miles from the historic center. One of the most iconic contemporary buildings is the Istanbul Sapphire, a blue-glass skyscraper that contains a popular shopping mall and a rooftop viewing platform.[12]
The Golden Horn Metro Bridge is a cable stayed bridge and another example of modern architecture in Istanbul. It connects the historic center of Istanbul to the opposite side of Golden Horn.
Earthquake resilience
In earthquake-prone areas, all buildings built to 20th century standards may be dangerous,
Further resilience over the 2007 code was mandated in the 2018 Turkish Seismic Code, which took effect on 1 January 2019.[17][21] Improvements included design supervision and site specific hazard definitions,[22] and for new buildings in vulnerable regions required rebar in high quality concrete.[23] Beams and columns in those buildings must be in the right place to properly absorb shaking.[23] The code is said by foreign experts to be very modern and similar to US codes.[24] However, these 21st century building codes were not very well enforced.[13]
In a bid to shore up support going into the
Gallery
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Finansbank Tower and Istanbul Sapphire on Büyükdere Avenue
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Skyscrapers on the Büyükdere Avenue
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Levent District of Istanbul
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Skyline in Istanbul
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Zorlu Center, Istanbul (2013)
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Sakirin Mosque, The mosque's architect is believed to be the first woman to design a mosque. (2009)
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Küçük Çamlıca TV Radio Tower
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Asian side of Istanbul
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Le Méridien Etiler Hotel
Related lists
- List of architectural structures in Istanbul
- List of columns and towers in Istanbul
- List of museums and monuments in Istanbul
- List of tallest buildings in Istanbul
- List of mosques in Istanbul
- List of churches in Istanbul
- List of synagogues in Istanbul
References
- ^ Menage, V. L. (1964). The Serpent Column in Ottoman Sources. pp. 169–174.
- ^ Menage 1964, pp. 169–70.
- ^ Byzantium 1200: Land Walls
- ^ a b c Byzantium 1200: Porta Aurea
- ^ Emporis: Anemas Dungeons
- ^ Byzantium 1200: Boukoleon Palace
- ^ Necipoğlu, Nevra (2001). Byzantine Constantinople: Monuments, Topography and Everyday Life. BRILL. p. 89.
- ^ Grosvenor, Edwin A. (1895). Constantinople. Roberts Brothers. pp. 435–437.
- ^ a b c Müller-Wiener (1976), p. 334
- ^ Gül, Murat &, Howells, Trevor (2013). Istanbul Architecture. Watermark Press. pp. 15–16.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ [1] Turkish Cultural Foundation
- ^ rcarney (17 April 2022). "Architecture of Istanbul, Turkey". Architecture of Cities. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
- ^ a b "In Turkey and Syria, outdated building methods all but assured disaster from a quake". NPR.
- ^ a b Baysan, Lauren Said-Moorhouse,Isil Sariyuce,Zeena Saifi,Reyhan (8 February 2023). "Emotions run high in Turkey amid questions over state response to deadly quake". CNN. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ^ "Turkey quakes to cost nation $6.2 billion - Minister - Türkiye | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- ^ a b "Turkey: New building code for earthquake resilience". www.preventionweb.net. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
- ^ "2007 Turkish Earthquake Code" (PDF).
- ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
- ^ ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
- ^ "International-Workshop-on-Advanced-Materials-and-Innovative-Systems-in-Structural-Engineering-Seismic-Practices-New-Improvements-in-the-2018-Turkish-Seismic-Code".
- ^ Sucuoğlu, Haluk. "New Improvements in the 2019 Building Earthquake Code of Turkey".
- ^ a b "Turkey earthquake: Anger at building standards grows". BBC News. 8 February 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
- ^ Pettersson, Lauren Said-Moorhouse,Christian Edwards,Krystina Shveda,Henrik (7 February 2023). "The earthquake in Turkey is one of the deadliest this century. Here's why". CNN. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Turkey's lax policing of building codes known before quake". AP NEWS. 10 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- ^ "Turkey earthquake failures leave Erdogan looking vulnerable". BBC News. 11 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- ^ ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
- ^ "Turkey earthquake: Anger at building standards grows". BBC News. 8 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- ^ "Practices of Brick Masonry Construction in Turkey and their Seismic Behaviors during Earthquakes".
- ^ a b "Earthquake in Turkey a warning for Istanbul, which faces much larger death toll if quake strikes".
- ^ "Hollanda'ya depreme dayanıklı konut yapmayı öğreten Türkiye neden bu kadar fazla yıkım yaşıyor?". BBC News Türkçe (in Turkish). 10 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ^ "Istanbul Sapphire". E-Architect.co.uk. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
Sources
- ISBN 9783803010223.
- Gül, Murat &, Howells, Trevor (2013). Istanbul Architecture. Boorowa: Watermark Press. ISBN 9780949284938.)
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link