Mavi Boncuk |
Taksim[1] Garden, one of the most beautiful places in Istanbul, was located here. Before the Topçu Barracks, there was an Armenian Cemetery in a large meadow and a large Muslim cemetery with cypress trees. In this meadow overlooking the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn, a group of gardeners who were tasked with looking after the sultan's gardens also ran a coffee house. It was thought that this place was planned to meet the travel and entertainment needs of the people of Pera. The prepared projects could not be implemented because the cemetery could not be removed completely. However, an English-style garden was built in 1870. The entrance to the garden was from today's Elmadağ side (Cumhuriyet Caddesi). To the left of the entrance was a pool and behind it a wooden casino on the embankment, a two-storey wooden kiosk directly opposite, another wooden orchestra place and another nightclub with terraces overlooking the view to the left.
The dilapidated wooden buildings were also removed; Taksim Municipality Casino was built instead of the old casino. With this arrangement, the Municipality Garden, opened in 1939, became one of the most popular and beautiful places in Istanbul. Taksim Municipality Casino was used as an elite venue for weddings, official meetings and Republic balls. The casino closed in the mid-1960s, then it was demolished and sacrificed to the aforementioned hotel building with its garden. On the other hand, on the part of Taksim Square facing the Bosphorus, another hotel, today's The Marmara, rose in the area that Prost designed as a viewing terrace and where a baroque mansion was once housed. One of the newspapers of the time wrote about him: "The tall passengers of PANAM's giant jumbo jets will no longer be running to the Galatasaray Hammam to say" We have bathed in the Turkish bath "or to the" Bazaar "to buy old (!) Old goods. Because all of these will be available at the ‘Hotel Intercontinental, which will be laid in Taksim tomorrow. Of course, in a slightly reduced form. "
View of İnönü Tour (Gezi Park), Taksim Garden and Municipal Casino from Mete Street 1940/1943
Taksim Garden, which was opened for use as the first public park of Istanbul in 1869, was redesigned by Henri Prost in a free order, with curved paths, in contrast to the geometrical order of İnönü Gezi. The Municipality Casino, designed by architect Rüknettin Güney, was built in the northeast corner of this park. Taksim Garden is connected by a pedestrian bridge with Park No. 2, which stretches between Harbiye, Maçka and Dolmabahçe. Henri Prost has created an uninterrupted promenade park in the middle of new residential settlements.
[1] Taksim Square was a huge void until the 18th century; It was a vast countryside without even a path. In order to meet the water needs of the increasing population, a goal was built in this vast area in 1731. Taksim got its name from this structure. Even though Maksem is in front of the square today, it is ignored. Most Istanbul residents are not even aware of it. Indeed, this structure is not the fate of Taksim, III. The Artillery Barracks built for the artillery class of the Kapıkulu soldiers in the period of Selim was determined. The barracks were in the area where today's Gezi Park is located. In the part where Atatürk Cultural Center was located, there was a three-storey building with ivy facades and stables. The space opposite the barracks was the training place of the soldiers - which later became a district known as Talimhane. The famous Crystal Casino, which was built in the 1930s in the part of Talimhane overlooking the square, was rising on concrete columns. (This building was demolished during Adnan Menderes period.)
The Artillery Barracks was emptied in the 1920s and 30s, and its courtyard was used as a football field. In those years, Taksim Square was designed for parades and ceremonies to be held on national holidays. The Taksim Republic Monument, built by Italian sculptor Pietro Canonica, was placed in the square on 8 August 1928. But the real big change took place during the construction moves of the Istanbul governor and mayor, Lütfi Kırdar. The Artillery Barracks were destroyed and destroyed in 1940. According to the narration of Aron Angel, who served as a consultant and assistant of Henri Prost in Istanbul Municipality from 1942 to 1952, the barracks was in ruins before it was destroyed; There was no possibility of repair. Today's Gezi Park was established instead of the barracks. “It was beautifully arranged with the extremely limited financial possibilities of that day; it was adorned with trees, greenery and flowers. Marble stairs with marble railings, seating areas overlooking the Bosphorus, solid and elegant benches, well-groomed grass fields made Gezi a center of attraction; it had become a place where the people frequent. " The square, which was reorganized with Gezi Park, became the symbol of the Republic and gradually of Istanbul.