Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
the Scientific Symposium on “Post Disaster Reconstruction” of ICOMOS AGA&ADCOM 2016, İstanbul, Türkiye, 15 - 21 Ekim 2016, ss.35
The fires in the historic cities of Turkey are disasters that
resulted in major transformations and regenerations in historic areas. As one
of the major historic cities in Turkey and the first capital of Ottoman Empire,
Bursa was subjected to permanent changes in the physical character of its
cultural heritage following several disasters. One such disaster, known as the 1855
earthquake, has mostly destroyed the traditional fabric of the city center and
the fires that broke out as a result of the aftershocks ruined the historic
buildings. However, despite various reconstructions, historic buildings were
just repaired and partially completed, while new buildings were constructed in
alignment with new straight roads. Approximately a century later, another
disaster, the 1958 fire (known locally as ‘Çarşı
Yangını’), broke out within the west part of the Historic Commercial Center
(HCC) and caused decays in Bezzestan together with khan buildings and shops
surrounding it. Institutions, such as the General Directorate of the
Pious Foundations and the High
Conservation Council, assumed the responsibility of re-planning and re-building
of this area. The Council decided to reconstruct and consolidate the ruins with
reinforced concrete systems, and the Pious Foundation prepared and implemented
approved restoration projects. Hence, in the following five years, replicas of
collapsed monuments were completely reconstructed by using contemporary
materials and techniques.
This paper aims to present these reconstructions
implemented after the 1958 fire in Bursa. Firstly, the architectural character
of the HCC is briefly explained. Then, the reconstruction process in the collapsed
part of this center is analyzed, through related Conservation Council decisions
that involved repair and restoration of the monumental buildings. Finally, the
reasons and results of these reconstructions are discussed within the framework
of national and international declarations concerning conservation of cultural
heritage in 1960s.