Identıty and Documentatıon A

Identity and Documentation

 

In 1968, a research group affiliated with the Faculty of Architecture at Istanbul Technical University (ITU), led by Prof. Nezih Eldem, carried out the first survey studies. Based on this work, the İstanbul Master Development Plan was drawn up in 1975, and all existing wooden structures at the time were placed on a monuments preservation list. However, by the early 1980s, at least fifteen of these buildings had either disappeared or deteriorated beyond repair.

During the 1970s, awareness of historic preservation grew across Europe. Zeyrek, one of Istanbul’s traditional neighborhoods, became a focal point in this context due to the preservation of both its houses and street network. These characteristics offered an opportunity for a comprehensive documentation project initiated by Wolfgang Müller-Wiener, then director of the DAI Istanbul Department. Between 1977 and 1981, Müller-Wiener launched a project aimed at documenting the architecture of the Molla Zeyrek Mosque and its surrounding area. The project consisted of four campaigns and was financially supported by the Volkswagenwerk Foundation. Participants included the DAI Istanbul Department, the Faculties of Architecture of the Technical Universities of Darmstadt and Karlsruhe, students and academics from Istanbul Technical University, and two sociologists from the University of Tübingen, Heike Offen and Claudia Schöning-Kalender. The architectural documentation of the area, selected in cooperation with the municipal administration, was carried out under the direction of Dipl.-Ing. Johannes Cramer. Further analysis and evaluation of the research were conducted at both the Technical University of Darmstadt and the Institute for the History of Architecture at the University of Karlsruhe. These collaborations continued over the next fifty years through various DAI Istanbul research initiatives.

The Zeyrek research project revealed that most of the documented buildings dated from the 20th century, with only a few constructed before 1900. Nevertheless, the neighborhood’s layout and architectural style were found to reflect much older traditions. Sadly, many of the structures recorded in 1977–78 have not survived to the present day.

The Zeyrek archive housed at the DAI Istanbul Department, largely founded on the results of this project, has continued to inspire subsequent DAI research. In 2008, Dr.-Ing. Martin Bachmann, then deputy director of the DAI Istanbul Department and a scholar of timber architecture, organized an exhibition titled Wooden Istanbul, which featured examples of Istanbul’s wooden residential architecture, including houses from Zeyrek. In 2014, with the support of the University of Karlsruhe, efforts began to transfer the Zeyrek data into a Geographic Information System (GIS). This process was completed in 2022, when the Zeyrek-GIS was made publicly accessible online to researchers worldwide.

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During the application process for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the 1979 Istanbul and Göreme campaign and the work of Prof. Nezih Eldem were influential. Eldem describes the urban fabric of Süleymaniye and Zeyrek as follows:

 

“An organic road network, integrated with houses and gardens, closed off to the street; the width and alignment of the streets, the height of the bay windows above the ground—everything was shaped for the pedestrian and the mounted rider… Within the neighborhood fabric formed by houses with their roof forms and bay windows amid the greenery of inner gardens that at points extend to the street, almost every room—and thus, in other words, every person—finds expression: the self-sufficient wholeness of self-sufficient units; neighborly relations in which families from every income group lived side by side… The seemingly irrational shaping of both the spatial texture and the plastic composition formed by the buildings is more than a factual coincidence; it is an elucidation of a culture of living, a worldview, and a system of values.”

 

These efforts bore fruit; supported by the research and documentation initiated in the late 1970s, Istanbul’s Historic Areas were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985.

The work carried out continued to inspire research and documentation in the ensuing years. Since 2015, the Istanbul Cultural Heritage Inventory has provided an accessible, map-based resource. Drawing on this inventory, the World Heritage Süleymaniye Conservation Strategy Report was initiated by the İBB Department of Cultural Heritage at the end of 2021. The research, documentation, analyses, and recommendations conducted in Süleymaniye—prominent for its multilayered cultural heritage identity—within the framework of the “living heritage” and “Historic Urban Landscape” approaches were published in 2023 with the scholarly contributions of Prof. Dr. Zeynep Ahunbay and Prof. Dr. İclal Dinçer.

 

VALENS AQUEDUCT

The Valens Aqueduct, a monument from the Late Roman–Early Byzantine period, runs parallel to the Golden Horn along Atatürk Boulevard between Istanbul’s third and fourth hills, Beyazıt and Fatih. Initiated by the Eastern Roman Emperor Valens as part of the Thracian Waterways, its construction is understood to have been completed between 368 and 373. Repaired after the conquest of Istanbul, the aqueduct was thereafter known as “Bozdoğan” and served the city as part of the historic water system that operated from its 4th-century construction through the end of the Ottoman period. Having largely preserved its integrity and authenticity, the Valens Aqueduct endures as a significant element of the Golden Horn skyline and the city’s topography, linking the World Heritage districts of Süleymaniye and Zeyrek.

 

MOLLA ZEYREK MOSQUE (PANTOKRATOR CHURCH)

“Pantokrator” means “almighty.” Between 1118 and 1124, Empress Irene, wife of John II Komnenos, commissioned the construction of today’s south church, dedicated to Jesus Christ, Ruler of the Universe (Christos Pantokrator). After the Empress’s death, another church of the same type was built immediately to the north of the Pantokrator Church, dedicated to the Merciful Mother of God (Theotokos Eleousa). Later, a two-domed chapel was added between the two churches and dedicated to the Archangel Michael (Archangelos Mikail) as the imperial mausoleum. Most likely during this period, an outer narthex was constructed in front of the south church. The architect known for these churches is Nikephoros. The three churches stood within a rather extensive monastic complex. After the conquest of Istanbul, until the construction of the Fatih Complex, the monastic buildings were used as a madrasah, and the Pantokrator churches were converted into what is now the Molla Zeyrek Mosque.

 

SULEYMANIYE COMPLEX

Commissioned by Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent and built by Architect Sinan between 1550 and 1557 on Istanbul’s third hill overlooking the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus, the Süleymaniye Complex is the landmark ensemble that gives the district its name. Reflecting classical Ottoman architecture, the complex functions as a civic center and comprises the mosque and its surrounding madrasas, a dār al-hadith, hospital (darüşşifâ), Qur’an recitation school (darülkurrâ), primary school (sıbyan mektebi), public kitchen (imaret), guesthouse (tabhane), bath (hamam), fountain, tombs, and a row of shops. Beyond worship, the Süleymaniye Complex also housed functions such as education, health, and commerce, making it a unique work that showcases Architect Sinan’s genius in urbanism and planning. The complex’s impact on the city skyline, the placement of its components in harmony with the topography, and its architectural design were influential in defining Istanbul’s Outstanding Universal Value and its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

 

Interviews

 

1. ZEYNEP AHUNBAY

The interview with Zeynep Ahunbay was held at Metrohan in April 2026. Prof. Dr. Zeynep Ahunbay has taken part in documentation and conservation efforts in Süleymaniye and Zeyrek—most notably the restoration of the Pantokrator Church (Zeyrek Mosque) and the preservation of civil architecture in the area—and has been a leading figure in training numerous researchers and advancing academic work on safeguarding Outstanding Universal Value and the integrity of the urban fabric. Ahunbay, who has also served as Head of the ITU Department of Restoration, Chair of ICOMOS Turkey, and as a UNESCO advisor, continues her efforts to protect and sustain Istanbul’s multilayered, rich identity.

 

2. JOHANNES CRAMER

The interview with Johannes Cramer was conducted for the exhibition titled “Voices from a Historic District of Istanbul,” planned for 2021, and was subsequently published in a book of the same name. Between 1977 and 1981, the work of documenting the Molla Zeyrek Mosque and its surroundings by architecture students from the Technical University of Darmstadt was led by Dipl.-Ing. Johannes Cramer.

 

3. HEIKE OFFEN-EREN (18.04.1947 – 13.04.2023)

The interview with Heike Offen-Eren was conducted for the exhibition titled “Voices from a Historic District of Istanbul,” planned for 2021, and was subsequently published in a book of the same name. Since 1978, Heike Offen-Eren has participated as a sociologist in the German Archaeological Institute’s work in Zeyrek. While a student at the University of Tübingen, she collected material on the local social conditions and later joined the research team, contributing to the Zeyrek-GIS project in many respects.

 

4. NURAN ZEREN GÜLERSOY

The interview with Nuran Zeren Gülersoy was held at Metrohan in April 2026. Prof. Dr. Nuran Zeren Gülersoy specializes in urban conservation, urban planning, and the improvement of historic environments; in the 1990s, within the preparations for the Zeyrek Conservation-Oriented Development Plan, she conducted strategic documentation and planning studies aimed at preserving the area’s historical identity. Having also served as Director of the ITU Environmental and Urban Studies Research and Application Center (UYG-AR) and as a member of the Executive Board for the Istanbul Historic Peninsula Management Plan, Gülersoy continues her academic and civil society work on transmitting cultural heritage to future generations.