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Showing posts with label pancaldi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pancaldi. Show all posts

Wednesday, 4 February 2015

Pangalti: District with a Levantine History

Pangalti, or Pancaldi is a district between Osmanbey and Harbiye. The older name, Pancaldi, is Italian. (There is still a Pancaldi Restaurant within Ramada Plaza Istanbul City Center.)

In the past, Levantine (Latin Christian) population was dense, but today the percentage has fallen dramatically (mostly due to events in 1955). There is still a Pangalti Armenian Catholic Church at Pangalti. Be quick to see it from the main street. The properties that once belonged to Armenians seized in some way and many buildings are demolished (probably in order to build just another big mall!). 

Pangalti Armenian Catholic Church
Pangalti witnessed a historical turning point. The first Labour Day was celebrated here on May 1st, 1912. The gathering place of the workers was the Belvu Garden, which doesn't exist today. (It is hard to find something green between Sisli and Taksim, except graveyards.)

Agos Newspaper is at Pangalti. Its address says Osmanbey, but the confines are vague between them. Agos means "planting seed" in Armenian. On January 19, 2007, the Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was shot dead in front of the newspaper building. One of the paving stones is a memorial stone, keep your eyes down and open, while you're walking.

Pangalti is quite a cosy street. There are markets and beautiful old houses everywhere.

Pangalti hotels


Pangalti is a very central district and houses some big hotels, including Ramada Hotel. There are also residences and suites. Everything here is central, so look for the price and comfort.

Pangalti transportation


The Dolapdere exit of Osmanbey metro stop is just in the middle of the street, and next to the exit, there is a bus stop. You can walk to Osmanbey, Kurtulus, Harbiye, Nisantasi and even Taksim.

Monday, 2 February 2015

Nisantasi: Let's Get a Little Bit Fancy

Nisantasi is named after the marking stone (nisantasi) on the intersection of Tesvikiye Street and Rumeli Street. It contains the close parts of Mesrutiyet and Tesvikiye neighbourhoods around Vali Konagi. The neigbours of Nisantasi are Macka, Harbiye, Osmanbey and Tesvikiye. Nisantasi is famous for globally known brands and cafés. I also like the old and beautiful houses and the comfortable atmosphere.

Valikonagi Street is the biggest street of Nisantasi. "Vali konagi" means "the governor's mansion" in Turkish. The mention of the Istanbul governor is literally there. The governor changes, but the use of the mansion doesn't change. You will notice the building on the opposite of Mim Kemal Oke Street. On the same street, there is also the house that famous architect, Vedat Tek himself designed.



Nisantasi usually hosts the best New Year's celebrations in Istanbul. The second biggest street, Abdi İpekçi Caddesi is decorated with trees and lights. The New Year celebrations were cancelled due to budgetary savings.

Visit the Demokrasi Park, whenever you can. It is literally full of cats! Most of my cat photos are taken there. There are benches and a little tea house to pass lovely time. And again, cats. (I even saw a rooster there.) The most luxurious cat houses are there. That's Nisantasi!



History


To repeat again, Nisantasi is named after the marking stone. Actually there are three stone signs, the third one is on the yard of a building at Ihlamur Yolu (I'll try to find it for you). The third and the second one are from the reign of Mahmut II in 1811. The first stone, our stone in question, is from the reign of Selim III in 1790-1791.

It is hard to separate Tesvikiye and Nisantasi. Before a different blog post about Tesvikiye (meaning incentive, encouragement), some summary is needed here. Selim III ordered the neo-classical police station and the neo-baroque Tesvikiye Mosque. Selim III ordered two stones which marked the beginning and the ending of the quarter. (Third one? I don't know.)

After the Balkan Wars in 1912-1913, Turks from Macedonia and Thessaloniki moved to Nisantasi. The family of Nâzim Hikmet was also among them. (Nâzim Hikmet was born in Thessaloniki.) There were also Greek, Jewish, Armenian and Levantine citizens. I don't know have many of them are left after the events at September 6-7, 1955, which affected mostly Taksim, Pangalti, Harbiye and Nisantasi.



Where is Nisantasi


Nisantasi is in Sisli district and it is quite close to Taksim and Mecidiyekoy. The transportation options are vast. I love the streets around Halaskargazi and Cumhuriyet streets. Walking from Taksim or Mecidiyekoy will take at most 20-30 minutes.

The traffic jam isn't so bad, compared to the rest of Istanbul, unless you run into work hours. The working hours usually affect the direction to Mecidiyekoy at evenings (That's my deduction as a person who works at Mecidiyekoy).

So, if you like to get on the bus, it is also a viable option (Osmanbey and Pangalti stops are both okay.) Read the bus signs. There are many buses that use Halaskargazi and Cumhuriyet streets (Mecidiyekoy-Sisli-Osmanbey-Pangalti-Harbiye-Elmadag-Taksim line is one of the most lively lines in Istanbul.)

You can also try the metro, but if you are coming from Taksim or Mecidiyekoy, it is not worthwhile to travel underground. The undergrounds in Istanbul are so underground that it is more practical to walk when the destination is Nisantasi. The name of the metro stop is Osmanbey. There are different exits which are all walkable, even if you choose the wrong one.

From Nisantasi, you can walk to Fulya and Besiktas.



Tips


* Nisantasi is one of the richest and kindest districts in Istanbul. I think, it is also one of the safest. The interesting thing is that even thinner addicts say please, if they are in Nisantasi or somewhere close.

* Nisantasi has shops, restaurants and cafés for every budget. However, still check the prices, in case you enter somewhere expensive. The attitudes are better than Taksim and Sultanahmet, so the need for bargaining may be less.

* Walking in Istanbul requires to look ahead, but don't miss the beautiful building. Take numbers of photos. Nisantasi is one of the few places in Istanbul, where a single woman taking photos draws almost no attention. (If someone here or at any part of Istanbul says "photo, photo" looking at your face smiling, just ignore that creature.)

* Nisantasi University has almost nothing to do with Nisantasi. There is just a small building at Kurtulus and the rest is somewhere irrelevant.

Monday, 1 December 2014

Gezi Park: The Rebellious Park of Istanbul

Gezi Park would probably be just another park in a city, if it hadn't hosted the greatest "social" demonstration in the history of Turkey. "It all started with a tree", you would hear. But when the police used disproportionate force against peaceful protesters who wanted to protect Gezi Park from becoming barracks, things went crazy. For a couple of months, flying gas canisters were a usual scene from Taksim to Galata and to Harbiye, and also at Kadikoy. It is worth to remind that despite fierce political sayings, the park is still there, safe and sound, and I'm glad to tell you about it.



The History of Gezi Park


When you see Gezi Park, you may find it small in comparision with other parks at other big cities in the world. But the park's newly assigned historical significance makes it larger than life. However, it doesn't mean the only historical memory of the park.

Let's start with earlier records. The area including Gezi Park, Divan Hotel (the hotel next to the park that let the protestors in when the violence was at its peak), Hyatt Regency Hotel, and some parts of Istanbul Radyoevi (broadcasting house) and Harbiye Orduevi (military museum and cultural center of command) was Pancaldi Armenian Graveyard, or Surp Agop Graveyard. (Surp Agop Apartment still exists, but the hospital was demolished last year and the apartment serves as a polyclinic. The graveyard being at the opposite of the hospital was plausible indeed.) The land was given to Armenians in about 1560, when there was a plague. From then on, it was used as a graveyard.

At that time, Pancaldi, Harbiye and Elmadag was considered as being outside the city. The "core" Istanbul was approximately the part where today Eminonu, Karakoy, Galata and Pera (the far end of Istiklal Street). So, the dead was allowed to be buried only outside Istanbul. In 1853, it was confined with walls. In 1856, the name plate was put. In 1865, with the cholera epidemic, burial processes were banned due to its "proximity" to the city. (Things change.)

In 1872, the municipality comandeer the area but Sultan Abdulaziz enacted an addict announcing it belonged to Armenians. In 1926, the burial processes were entirely banned and it was decided that the graveyard was to be transferred to some other place. In 1931, Istanbul Municipality that the land should be assigned to it. The case was closed in 1934 and the large part was given to the municipality. In 1938, it was announced that the graveyard would be demolished and fifteen days were given to transfer the graves, if interested.

The yellow building is Divan Hotel.

In 1939, the graveyard was totally demolished, along with Khor Virap Church. The gravestones were used for the stairs of Yeni Cami (New Mosque) in Eminonu, and for the stairs of Gezi Park, which was being built at that time.

Let's move to another historical part. In 1806, Halil Pasa Topcu Kislasi (Halil Pasha Artillery Barracks) was built at today's Gezi Park. At 31 March Incident, it became the headquarters of rebels who were -in brief- in favour of sharia, and against more liberal policies of Ittihak Terakki Cemiyeti, Party of Union and Progress. (Maybe, things never change.) The rebellion was suppressed by the army.

As Beyoglu (the district which also comprises Taksim, in case you're confused) developed towards Sisli, the barracks lost its function and it became a stadium in 1922. Henry Proust, the controversial city planner, offered authorities a plan that involved Nisantasi, Harbiye, Dolmabahce and Gezi Park. In 1940, after the stadium was demolished, Gezi Park became the first park of the Republic (of which steps were carried from the demolished graveyard).

Well, it isn't a coincidence for Gezi Park to host such heated protests.

Those were the days, my friend.


Where is Gezi Park?


Gezi Park is stuated close to Taksim Square, which is unfortunately a big gray gap nowadays. If you put Taksim on your front, the left road will take you to Macka and ultimately to Besiktas or Kabatas. The right road will take you to Elmadag and Harbiye with a ten minute walk, or Nisantasi with a fifteen minute walk. If you like, you can take the metro from Taksim and go to Osmanbey (adjecent to Nisantasi), Sisli, Mecidiyekoy and further stations.

The bus stations were carried under ground to save Taksim from traffic (and probably with frustration due to the cancellation of "new Taksim" plan). It's a little tricky right now. If you want to get on the buses which passes from Besiktas (and to the coastline, that is Ortakoy, Arnavutkoy, Tarabya, Sariyer, etc., or the Anatolian coast, that is Kadikoy, Bostanci, etc.), you should walk left from the Gezi Park for a while to reach the bus station next to Ataturk Library. If you like to get on a bus which passes from Sishane (to Karakoy, Eminonu, Aksaray, Beyazit, Laleli, Bayrampasa Main Bus Station, Ataturk International Airport, etc.), you should walk down to the station which has an entrance facing Gezi Park. It seems complicated at the first time. It really is. Once I gave up to meet my friend at Kadikoy.

As I mentioned above, Gezi Park is relatively small. You can walk around in ten minutes at best. However, if you sit on a bench or cobblestones, it will take hours to contemplate on its history.
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