Posted on 08/27/2014 7:24:43 AM PDT by DeaconBenjamin
The restoration of a historical mansion in Istanbul, a possible residence for President-elect Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been strongly criticized by Ilber Ortaylı, a Turkish historian of the Ottoman era.
Works in the mansion of the last Ottoman Sultan Vahideddin (also known as Mehmed VI) were launched two months ago, amid controversy over the possible destruction of nearby buildings.
Ortaylı said that although he supported the use of historical buildings, he found the Vahdettin Mansion’s current restoration incompatible with the historical reality and architectural rules of its epoch.
“Ask the heirs of the property, or architectural historians – no one is in agreement with the restoration that has been conducted,” he said, while adding that historians like him could by no means suggest how to plan a restoration for the use of government officials.
“What’s being done is not my responsibility. I cannot interfere in any way with what the government should use and how it should do it. First of all, there is a security dimension; we cannot know how the home of a government leader living in a big city should be organized. But I do not agree with what the building has become. I hope there will be more care for other buildings,” Ortaylı said.
The mansion, located in the quiet Asian Istanbul neighborhood of Çengelkoy and facing the Bosphorus, is not for from Erdogan’s personal home in the city.
Ortaylı, who was the head of the Topkapı Palace Museum for several years, argued that using historical buildings was a good means of protecting them, if the structures were maintained correctly.
“Some embassies here, for example the Italian and British summer embassies, have collapsed because they weren’t being used. Keeping historical buildings unharmed requires constant attention and renovation,” he said.
Ortaylı also expressed hope that the Tarabya Mansion, President Abdullah Gul’s Istanbul office throughout his seven-year tenure, will remain in use now that Gul has left office.
I think that it is safe to say that Erdogan has delusions of grandeur.
In our country, our leaders don't think that way... except when their Presidential Library is concerned. /S
Of course, the laws don't always apply to everyone. That's even more true in Turkey than it is here. I still recall the Istanbul earthquake of 1999, in which several buildings that had been put up in violation of the building codes collapsed with considerable loss of life. Everyone knew that somebody had been paid off because the buildings weren't up to code.
Like the Billy Jeff Clinton Double Wide on Stilts?
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