Galata and Pera 1 a Short History, Urban Development Architecture and Today
ARI The Bulletin of the İstanbul Technical University VOLUME 55, NUMBER 1 Galata and Pera 1 A Short History, Urban Development Architecture and Today Afife Batur Faculty of Architecture, Istanbul Technical University, Taşkışla, 34437, Taksim, Istanbul, Turkey Keywords: Galata, Pera, Urban development, Architectural development The coastal band stretching from the to be more prominent starting from 10th northern shores of the Golden Horn until century onwards. The conditions that had Tophane and the slopes behing it have been created the Medieval Galata were being known as Galata since the 8th century. formed in these trading colonies. At first Formerly this area was known as Sycae Amalfi, then the Venetians and later the (Sykai), or as peran en Sykais, which Pisans had obtained special privileges from essentially means ‘on opposite shore’. the Byzantines. The Genovese, who had It is thought that Galata’s foundation established themselves on the southern preceded that of Constantinopolis. The shores of the Golden Horn as a result of archaeological finds here indicate that it their rights recognized by Emperor Manuel was an important settlement area in Comnenos I (1143-1186), were forced to Antiquity. Although its borders can not be move over to Pera on the opposite shore determined precisely, it is known that when the Venetians seized their territory during the reign of Emperor Constantin during the Latin invasion of 1204. (324 –337), it was a fortified settlement When the Latins departed from consisting of a forum, a theatre, a church, a Constantinople in 1261, the city was in harbor and bath buildings, as well as 431 complete ruins.
[Show full text]