Sulukule Renovation

Istanbul has been one of the popular cities with its cultural, social and historical riches from old times. Because of its diversity nowadays Istanbul creates an interest of big companies. Due to these reasons,prices of real estate in Istanbul compete with London and Tokyo. As a result of big companies' interest to Istanbul, the idea of recruited funds owners by regenerating city residences come up. This idea came up in Lyon and New York in 1990's and projects to ennoble were done. Sadly nowadays this kind of application under the name of ''renovation project'' put into practice in the Fatih borough which has important historical places. Municipality's aim is only to restorate buildings of high risk and make the region as a tourism and trade region instead of making buildings earthquake-proof. One of the places under this project is Sulukule. One of the things which municipality do in this region under renovation project consists of ten streets, three avenues, and forty four officially registered work of art including church, mosque, fountain and residence. Under the renovation project,Sulukule will be designed as a centre of culture, entertainment and trade by protecting and renewing worn historical places under the law.

In city wall's historical discreet Sulukule, Romans who manage to live by dancing, busking and fortune telling settled down there by the beginning of 18th century as famous Turkish traveller Evliya Çelebi said. However according to Adrian Marsh who researches romans, Romans lived in Istanbul in the time of Byzantine.

For centuries Romans have embraced a life style which focuses on streets. Street entertainments compose an important part of their culture. Such a society which is so introverted,the discreet's tissues, mosques, churches, fountains, houses are the concrete part of their society. Apart from street entertainments,home entertainments which started in 1950 and ended in 1980 are created. Most of these entertainments were done in this civic architecture samples and people from other discreets of Istanbul came there to watch them.

The suggestion of the municipality under the renovation project to this society which gets money from street entertainments only,is TOKİ houses. However they will get these houses in 20-30 years by paying 50-150 tl rent. They declare that they present them a modern life. They will live in 15-20 floor apartments instead of ruined bildings. But how can Romans live in this high floor apartments being far from themselves? How Roman culture including street entertainments take shelter there? We know that the tissue in which we live completes us and we complete the tissue of our lives. If the part of it depart from the whole, both of them will become unfinished.
Sulukule is in an important position physically.It is a part of earth city wall which protects historical topography, monuments, orchards and discreets. Municipality has made several comments which informs the importance of Sulukule by protecting the tissue of city wall. For instance they highlight to design buildings which are appropriate to Ottoman architecture style and their height will not go beyond the city wall. However there are some subjects which the municipality do not question:

How is it right to do Ottoman style buildings to this place where a lot of culture and civilization live? Next Is the accordance of the buildings to city walls which will be designed here are provided by the heights of the buildings? What is more,do the renovation of the place which organically occur during time around the city wall become alien and be against the tissue of the city wall? Lastly can a piece of earth live without a society who lives there?

To sum up, under the renovation project,Sulukule not only lose its historical buildings and discreets but also Romans will lose the culture they have had for centuries. In my opinion,the historical tissue of Sulukule must be restored by not ruining the structure of the discreet and house entertainments must be prompted so Sulukule can get income and it can return to its old days.