Demircan- Beyoğlu’s mover and shaker

From a bare bones street, the people who had lived on it had started planting trees and found ways of planting shrubs and flowers. The movement and others started on the south end of the street and proceeded north in small spurts. Property owner Selim Çetinbaş in particular headed the informal action by personally going, buying and planting trees in front of the apartment buildings. He even talked the city into providing a fire hydrant in case of emergencies that provided the water that helped the green foliage grow. But with the street winning the contest came a promise from the municipality to repave the street and sidewalk and replant the trees. And now after four months of excavating, measuring, putting down stones and cement, trying to keep traffic out and so on, it is finally finished and officially open. It would be hard to distinguish the street now from one in a western European city.

Of course, Başkurt Sokak is just one of the many streets that this mayor has had renewed during the last five years he’s been in office. Kutlu Sokak in Gümüşsuyu is another recent upgrade. There the Beyoğlu municipality added stairways so people could reach their homes and put in trees. The initiative came from the people who lived there just as it did for Başkurt Sokak. Demircan pointed out that the streets were not achieved through the power of money but by the wish of the people. They got together and invited the mayor to have tea with them while they presented their idea and plans for renovation and the mayor accepted it. After all Demircan is particularly known for listening to people and exchanging thoughts with them, even if they happen to be small children. He also loves music of all kinds and part of the package that the people of Kutlu Sokak put together included having concerts and art shows in spring on that street.

While Demircan expressed the hope that these streets would be examples for other streets, this isn’t the first time that the municipality has been instrumental in improving streets. Oba Sokak and Bakraç Sokak come to mind as does any number of improvements on the streets off İstiklal Caddesi. His whole intention is to make Beyoğlu more livable.

In order to increase the quality of life for local people, the Beyoğlu Municipality has established centers in various parts of Beyoğlu in order to provide the local people faster and more easily with many services from education to health, from cultural events to social-assistance services. Within these buildings are health clinics, kindergartens, courses, local officials, kitchens, laundry rooms and many units ready to provide social assistance. This government wants to offer all of the people of Beyoğlu offers education, health, consciousness-raising, environmental sustainability, guidance and culture services. These district "mansions" are to be found in Piyalepasa, Tophane, Kadimehmet, Bademlik, Ornektepe, Aynalikavak, Okmaydani, Yenisehir and Dolapdere. Demircan has pledged there will be two more such district mansions in Ciksalin and Cindere. "These places are very important for creating and developing local culture. Everyone has come to Beyoğlu from other places and continue their lives here. We won’t forget the places from which we come of course but we will take control of the district in which we live and of Beyoğlu."

Opening other facilities like the Turabi Baba Library is yet another aim of the Beyoğlu municipality. This library in Kasimpasa has been established in a complex of buildings constructed as part of a mausoleum. Originally it was built by Mehmed Turabi Efendi in the last quarter of the 18th century. Much later the building was neglected but now it has been turned into a library that is especially directed at young people. There is even a computer room for students who have nowhere else to turn . They have none at home or school. There is also a large collection of books and educational programs that are put on every week.

In support of the arts and other projects

The 42-year-old Beyoğlu mayor is a strong supporter of culture and the arts in addition to advocating social programs. This past Valentine’s Day he led dozens of arts and culture people in a walk down Istiklal Caddesi, a tradition of several years. But this time, Demircan emphasized that he had wanted to send a special message to the world. "The best and most special side of man is loving and being loved. Remaining without love and the love of man has to be a very big loss. We want to transfer the beauty of loving to the environment through the ’Walk of Love.’"

This month the Beyoğlu Municipality took stage front and center because of its suport for culture and the arts when the "Yesilcam Awards" were given out at Lutfi Kirdar Congress and Exhibition Palace. In fact Demircan received an ovation because of his having given birth to the thought that such an important ceremony symbolized more than a romp in a park somewhere in Istanbul.

Last October, Demircan presided over a meeting of the organization EUROCITIES at which he promoted Istanbul as the European Capital of Culture in 2010. The group is a network of major European cities that was established in 1986 with more than 130 large cities in over 30 European countries. It provides a means of sharing knowledge and ideas, exchanging experiences, analyzing common problems and developing innovative solutions. Beyoğlu enjoys a pivotal role in the staging of the 2010 events with its art galleries, theaters and many amenities.

Maintenance and repair

The region was degenerating because essential maintenance and repair was not being carried out. The intent of the project was to halt the deterioration of the region and make life much safer, healthier and reconnect it with the city.It would make it into a new center for living. In addition to this various projects and educational programs will reduce if not eradicate the physical and socio-economic problems that occur in the area. The project continues to evolve depending on the wishes and requirements of the individual homeowner.

Demircan is always conscious of the importance of tourism. He worked in the tourism sector before becoming involved in politics. He seized on the opportunity of the 150th anniversary last year of the establishment of the municipality to, for instance, spruce up the famous Çicek Passage that is considered a must on every tourist’s visit to Istanbul. Buildings were refurbished and painted while new paving was put down. For those among us who enjoyed the irregular and rather raffish quality that often led to the unexpected, the sanitization seems to take some of the color out of the place. But a friend once commented in regard to a previous renovation in Çicek Passage, "Just give it some time and it will return to what it previously was."

The mayor also went to bat to save another of Beyoğlu’s must-visit sites, the Rejans Restaurant, that has been a landmark of the area for decades. The owner of the building had wanted to close the restaurant and turn the building into a school but in the face of so many protests from prominent people like Sevket Eczacıbaşı who heads the Istanbul Arts and Culture Foundation and Demircan’s promise to track what was happening, the owner backed down.Demircan has been described as a person who thinks in the long term and given the amazing number of projects that he has initiated or supported over the past five years, this certainly seems to be true. It is additionally said that he looks at his own personal life in the same way. Where he used to enjoy reading, today he doesn’t have the time for it. As usual this is a mark of success. You may remember the old saying, "If you want to get something done, give it to a busy person." For Beyoğlu, that man is Ahmet Misbah Demircan.

Importance of tourism

Demircan’s pet projects involve Talimhane and Tarlabasi both of which are off Taksim Square. Talimhane was his first accomplishment, turning it from a rundown neighborhood filled with small car repair garages and spare parts’ dealers and a few seedy, down-on-their-luck hotels and apartment buildings. The only reason for people to go there was to enjoy the food served at the only Chinese restaurant in town. In the 19th century and earlier this area was the training ground for the Ottoman military but later small apartment buildings were built in which quite a few members of minority groups. Today there are some 40 hotels snd many small restaurants that offer a variety of cuisines and good food. The best sushi restaurant in town is there, Udonya at the Point Hotel.

The Tarlabaşı project is much greater than Talimhane and its rehabilitation includes 3,000 buildings. The first stage was to include 278 buildings. The municipality was able to obtain the needed permission from the Monuments Council and then the approval of the Beyoğlu Municipal Assembly. Demircan said, "The Tarlabasi Renewal Project isn’t just important from an architectural point of view, at the same time it aims at development in the area in the social and economic sense. The goal is to put forth a new and exemplary model in urban renewal."