2. What is Historical Responsibility?
Historical responsibility is our debt to our ancestors.
It enables us to preserve our cultural heritage and
helps us take lessons from the past. So we can
remember where we came from. It does not belong to
a single country. Every person in every country has a
responsibility towards it’s nation.
3. Sehzadebası Mosque
The Şehzade Mosque was commissioned
by Sultan Suleiman I in memory of his eldest son by
Hürrem, Prince Mehmet, who died of smallpox at the age
of 21 in 1543, though the cause for his death is disputed. It
was the first major commission by the Imperial Architect
Mimar Sinan, and was completed in 1548. It is considered
by architectural historians as Sinan's first masterpiece of
classical Ottoman architecture.
4.
5. A Note From the Past
While the Sehzadebası Mosque designed by Architect
Sinan was being restored people recovered a note
explaining how to restore the stonework. The note
was written by Architect Sinan himself in order to
assist the people who would restore the mosque.
6. Hagia Sophia
World’s oldest cathedral is now a museum in Istanbul. Thanks
to Ottoman Emperor Fatih Sultan Mehmet, the mosaics with
human figurines in them were coated with a thin layer of
plaster, so they were preserved. In 1574 when building showed
signs of instability Architect Sinan built retaining walls. If he
hadn’t Hagia Sophia probably wouldn’t be here today. The
building got some more restoration by the Byzantine Institute
of America. Thanks to all these restoration through history it
still stands.
7.
8. Church of Akdamar
It is told that this church was built to house the Original
Cross. It is a beautiful work of Armenian architecture
with its plant and animal motifs. After decades of neglect
this wonderful church was restored by Turkish Republic
Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
9. Selimiye Mosque
This grand mosque stands at the center of a külliye, a
medrese, a dar-ül hadis, a timekeeper's room and an arasta.
In this mosque Sinan employed an octagonal supporting
system that is created through eight pillars incised in a
square shell of walls. The four semi domes at the corners
of the square behind the arches that spring from the
pillars, are intermediary sections between the huge
encompassing dome and the walls.
10.
11. Dolmabahçe Palace
Dolmabahçe Palace was ordered by the Empire's 31st
Sultan, Abdülmecid I, and built between the years 1843
and 1856. The design contains eclectic elements from the
Baroque , Rococo and Neoclassical styles, blended with
traditional Ottoman architecture to create a new synthesis.
unctionally, on the other hand, it retains elements of
traditional Ottoman palace life, and also features of
traditional Turkish homes. It is the largest palace in
Turkey, considering that the area of the monoblock
building occupies 45,000 m².
12. A law that went into effect on March 3, 1924 transferred
the ownership of the palace to the national heritage of the
new Turkish Republic. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk , the
founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey, used
the palace as a presidential residence during the summers
and enacted some of his most important works here.
13.
14.
15. Maiden’s Tower
The length of tower: 80 meters
The older name of the tower:
Leander’s Tower
City: İstanbul
16. Legend
There are many legends about the construction of the
tower and its location. According to the most popular
Turkish legend, a sultan had a much beloved daughter.
One day, an oracle prophesied that she would be killed by
a venomous snake on her 18th birthday. The sultan, in an
effort to thwart his daughter's early demise by placing her
away from land so as to keep her away from any snakes,
had the tower built in the middle of the Bosphorus to
protect his daughter until her 18th birthday. The princess
was placed in the tower, where she was frequently visited
only by her father.
17. On the 18th birthday of the princess, the sultan brought
her a basket of exotic sumptuous fruits as a birthday gift,
delighted that he was able to prevent the prophecy. Upon
reaching into the basket, however, an asp that had been
hiding among the fruit bit the young princess and she died
in her father's arms, just as the oracle had predicted. Hence
the name Maiden's Tower.
18.
19. Strategic Importance of Turkey
The importance of Turkey is known from the
geographical location between Europe, the Middle East
and Asia. Turkey is a modern Muslim country and
culturally stands as a bridge between Western and Eastern
world. Turkey plays big role in the distribution of energy
from Middle East to Europe. Also Turkey is playing a
very affective role in the region as a leader.
20.
21. Economic Dimension
Turkey is a country that is rapid developing, urbanizing,
carrying on economical and cultural integration with the
world and has a continuously growing 70 million market.
The economical relationship between Europe and Turkey
is increasing. According to Rehn “Turkey is also
becoming more and more important partner for the EU in
energy. It can provide new routes for oil and gas imports
to the EU from the Caspian region.
22. Turkey is also having an economical potential from the
aspects of the countries and autonomous governments
which are separated from Soviet Union. In addition to
these if the Iraqi petrol and the Caucasian petrol marketed
over Turkey for a very long time, Turkey will ensure a
significant advantage. The economical importance of
Turkey with the defragment of the geopolitical importance
will gain a lot deeper dimension and meaning.
