20 years to put the ’grand’ back into the Grand Mabeyn
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Anatolia News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 26, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - The Grand Mabeyn within the Yıldız Palace complex has been undergoing careful renovations for 20 years and the restoration is finally complete. All that remains to be done is assembling the furniture and interior decor within the old building, which used to host heads of state during the latter years of the Ottoman Empire
The rotting wood, peeling plaster and worm-infested materials of the Grand Mabeyn (State Apartments), part of the Yıldız Palace and home to the Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II during the Second Constitutionalist Period, have been under the care of seasoned restoration masters for the last 20 years, uncovering the grandeur and magnificence of the building.
Ahmet Selbesoğlu, the chief control officer of the Yıldız Palace for the Istanbul Council of Survey and Monuments, connected to the Department of Cultural Heritage and Museum within the Culture and Tourism Ministry, provided information on the restoration project at the palace to the Anatolia News Agency.
The stretch of land where Yıldız Palace is situated served as a hunting ground during Suleiman the Magnificent’s reign. During Selim "the Grim" Yavuz’s reign, the first structure was built and expansion continued. The Grand Mabeyn was constructed at the request of Sultan Abdulaziz, who asked the Balyan family to design and build the structure as a resting palace, and it began its role as the most magnificent building of its time.
When Abdulhamid II took charge of the Ottoman Empire he resided with his family first at the Çırağan Palace but then in a unexpected midnight move the sultan made his home at Yıldız Palace, which is 3.5 stories tall and stretches over 1,100 square meters. Thus it became the new command center of the Ottoman Empire.
Left empty then handed over to the War Academy
It was within the walls of the Grand Mabeyn that Abdulhamid II hosted the crown prince of the Astro-Hungarian Empire in 1884 and the German Emperor and King of Prussia Wilhelm II in 1889. The Grand Mabeyn was also the site of the important proclamation that would usher in the Second Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire. It was also the command post for most of the Russo-Turkish Wars.
The Grand Mabeyn Palace stood empty for three years after the last Ottoman sultan, Vahdeddin, left the country in late 1920. The palace and surrounding grounds were given to the War Academy in 1924 by order of the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
When the new complex for the War Academy in Maslak was completed in 1978, the Yıldız Palace was handed over to the Culture and Tourism Ministry. The ministry has undertaken many restoration projects, said Selbesoğlu. "One night in 1983 I went to the Grand Mabeyn Palace. Zeki Müren was going to sing on the main stage. The building was run down, but they had built a stage at the entrance of the structure and the exterior had been painted because then President Turgut Özal was going to give a speech there," he said. "There was then no restoration until 1988. The first renovation project for the Grand Mabeyn began and continues today," said Selbesoğlu, adding that the restoration efforts have mostly been completed and they are now looking to restore the decor.
Most of the furniture in the Grand Mabeyn was moved to Ankara for a ball in 1924 on order from Atatürk and the items were never returned to the palace. Selbesoğlu said they were preparing a project that would reassemble all the missing pieces and ensure their return to Mabeyn.
"This project would require pieces to be returned from the Chief of General Staff’s office, from the Prime Ministry, the office of the president, the War Academy, as well as Topkapı Palace and Dolmabahçe Palace. If there is trouble with obtaining these pieces from these places we will bring in replicas and open up the Grand Mabeyn as a Palace Museum," said Selbesoğlu, adding that they were preparing the palace for 2010 when Istanbul becomes the European Capital of Culture.
"We are hoping the palace will be used for government business and administration summits. This will make the building a living place as well," he said, adding that foreign leaders frequently used historic buildings to host dignitaries and other leaders.
"We have already offered the idea to President Gül. We told him if he had summits and conferences there it would raise the profile of the building and restore its prestige. I would love it if this place became functional like that again. It would be important in letting foreigners see it," he said, adding that the Water Room on the ground floor was a great symbol of Ottoman hospitality. "The 50 to 60 decibels of sound that come from the 16 water fixtures on six fountains in the room make it an ideal resting room," he said. The room also performs another function, visiting dignitaries can hash out plans in a private space where there is no way for them to be overheard. When the fountains and fixtures are turned up, the 70 to 80 decibels of noise from the water is a perfect cover for sensitive information, Selbesoğlu said.
Preservation efforts win prestigious award
We tried to pay especially close attention to the historical layers of the building, said Selbesoğlu. "Preserving a landmark means preserving its materials, its memories and the feeling that it has been lived in. You have to preserve the rotting wood, the decaying materials and the falling plaster," he said. He also drew attention to the prestigious restoration project award that their efforts had won. The Islamic Conference provides a Best Restoration Project Effort award. This award was given to the Grand Mabeyn restoration project last year by the now deceased King Fahd of Saudi Arabia.
The reason the restoration took so long to complete was because everything was restored according to original plans, said Selbesoğlu. "We always kept in mind that we were restoring the old, not making something new, and that takes longer," he said. "We always remembered what we were doing was restoration and that is why I think this is one of the best restoration projects undertaken in Turkey."
Ahmet Selbesoğlu, the chief control officer of the Yıldız Palace for the Istanbul Council of Survey and Monuments, connected to the Department of Cultural Heritage and Museum within the Culture and Tourism Ministry, provided information on the restoration project at the palace to the Anatolia News Agency.
The stretch of land where Yıldız Palace is situated served as a hunting ground during Suleiman the Magnificent’s reign. During Selim "the Grim" Yavuz’s reign, the first structure was built and expansion continued. The Grand Mabeyn was constructed at the request of Sultan Abdulaziz, who asked the Balyan family to design and build the structure as a resting palace, and it began its role as the most magnificent building of its time.
When Abdulhamid II took charge of the Ottoman Empire he resided with his family first at the Çırağan Palace but then in a unexpected midnight move the sultan made his home at Yıldız Palace, which is 3.5 stories tall and stretches over 1,100 square meters. Thus it became the new command center of the Ottoman Empire.
Left empty then handed over to the War Academy
It was within the walls of the Grand Mabeyn that Abdulhamid II hosted the crown prince of the Astro-Hungarian Empire in 1884 and the German Emperor and King of Prussia Wilhelm II in 1889. The Grand Mabeyn was also the site of the important proclamation that would usher in the Second Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire. It was also the command post for most of the Russo-Turkish Wars.
The Grand Mabeyn Palace stood empty for three years after the last Ottoman sultan, Vahdeddin, left the country in late 1920. The palace and surrounding grounds were given to the War Academy in 1924 by order of the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
When the new complex for the War Academy in Maslak was completed in 1978, the Yıldız Palace was handed over to the Culture and Tourism Ministry. The ministry has undertaken many restoration projects, said Selbesoğlu. "One night in 1983 I went to the Grand Mabeyn Palace. Zeki Müren was going to sing on the main stage. The building was run down, but they had built a stage at the entrance of the structure and the exterior had been painted because then President Turgut Özal was going to give a speech there," he said. "There was then no restoration until 1988. The first renovation project for the Grand Mabeyn began and continues today," said Selbesoğlu, adding that the restoration efforts have mostly been completed and they are now looking to restore the decor.
Most of the furniture in the Grand Mabeyn was moved to Ankara for a ball in 1924 on order from Atatürk and the items were never returned to the palace. Selbesoğlu said they were preparing a project that would reassemble all the missing pieces and ensure their return to Mabeyn.
"This project would require pieces to be returned from the Chief of General Staff’s office, from the Prime Ministry, the office of the president, the War Academy, as well as Topkapı Palace and Dolmabahçe Palace. If there is trouble with obtaining these pieces from these places we will bring in replicas and open up the Grand Mabeyn as a Palace Museum," said Selbesoğlu, adding that they were preparing the palace for 2010 when Istanbul becomes the European Capital of Culture.
"We are hoping the palace will be used for government business and administration summits. This will make the building a living place as well," he said, adding that foreign leaders frequently used historic buildings to host dignitaries and other leaders.
"We have already offered the idea to President Gül. We told him if he had summits and conferences there it would raise the profile of the building and restore its prestige. I would love it if this place became functional like that again. It would be important in letting foreigners see it," he said, adding that the Water Room on the ground floor was a great symbol of Ottoman hospitality. "The 50 to 60 decibels of sound that come from the 16 water fixtures on six fountains in the room make it an ideal resting room," he said. The room also performs another function, visiting dignitaries can hash out plans in a private space where there is no way for them to be overheard. When the fountains and fixtures are turned up, the 70 to 80 decibels of noise from the water is a perfect cover for sensitive information, Selbesoğlu said.
Preservation efforts win prestigious award
We tried to pay especially close attention to the historical layers of the building, said Selbesoğlu. "Preserving a landmark means preserving its materials, its memories and the feeling that it has been lived in. You have to preserve the rotting wood, the decaying materials and the falling plaster," he said. He also drew attention to the prestigious restoration project award that their efforts had won. The Islamic Conference provides a Best Restoration Project Effort award. This award was given to the Grand Mabeyn restoration project last year by the now deceased King Fahd of Saudi Arabia.
The reason the restoration took so long to complete was because everything was restored according to original plans, said Selbesoğlu. "We always kept in mind that we were restoring the old, not making something new, and that takes longer," he said. "We always remembered what we were doing was restoration and that is why I think this is one of the best restoration projects undertaken in Turkey."