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Galataport Istanbul

Galataport Istanbul is a destination project located on the coastline between the Karaköy Pier and Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Fındıklı Campus. In development since 2014 as a USD 1.7 billion joint investment by Doğuş Group in partnership with Bilgili Holding, Galataport Istanbul is one of the most significant destination projects globally, on the 1.2-kilometer coastline with a cruise port, a distinguished hotel brand, cafés, restaurants, boutiques, offices and two prominent museums of art.

History

Throughout history, Galata has been a melting pot of cultures. An important Genoese colony prior to the Ottoman conquest of the city, Galata was spared from the ravages of the battle as it was taken over peacefully. Therefore, Galata preserved its Christian identity for long years. In time, Galata was surrounded by predominantly Muslim neighborhoods, such as Tophane, but the quarter itself remained the location of embassies and foreign financial institutions, keeping its cosmopolitan identity.

Tender

After winning the Salıpazarı Port Tender with a bid of USD 702 million, which was issued by the Privatization Administration on May 16, 2013, Doğuş Holding formed a partnership with BLG Capital, a Bilgili Holding affiliate, in January 2014. This partnership led to the founding of the joint venture company Salıpazarı Liman İşletmeciliği ve Yatırımları A.Ş. for the development and operation of the location. The company assumed ownership of the port area in February 2014 and commenced operations after signing a transfer contract with Türkiye Denizcilik İşletmeleri A.Ş. The company was later renamed to Galataport İstanbul Liman İşletmeciliği ve Yatırımları A.Ş. on February 14, 2018.

Project scope and buildings

Galataport Istanbul is regarded as a major destination project globally with a cruise liner port on the 1.2-kilometer coastline, upscale hotel, cafés, restaurants, boutiques, offices and two prominent museums of art.

The project is set to transform a historical city port into a world-class cruise liner port and a touristic destination, while opening the promenade to public use for the first time in approximately two centuries. The 29,000-square-meter cruise liner terminal is located underground thanks to an unprecedented moving wall system, enabling the historical port to maintain its status as Istanbul’s maritime gateway into the world.

The historical buildings on the project site will be restored and the project will house the 177-room Peninsula Istanbul hotel by the upscale hotel chain Peninsula Hotels, which has investments in a selected 10 prestigious locations across the globe. The Hong Kong-based company, HSH (The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited) is not only the operator but also the 50% owner of the Peninsula Istanbul project, and is set to make a major contribution to both Galataport Istanbul and the Turkish tourism industry at large.

The project’s food & beverage and retail areas are located on the Karaköy side within the Post Office building which will be restored, and Salıpazarı, which will be rebuilt in line with the urban tapestry of Karaköy. The project planned to feature a total of 250 food & beverage and retail stores with a total leasable area of approximately 52,000 square meters.

Office spaces, offering a leasable area of 43.000 square meters, are situated within Salıpazarı, which has been a center of finance, insurance and banking throughout history.

The offices that are located in LEED candidate buildings, feature 100% fresh air in accordance with ASHRAE standards, and the fully glass-clad structures enable optimum use of natural sunlight in addition to LED fixtures.

The offices are furnished using recycled materials, and utilize custom-designed air conditioning systems that operate with seawater.

The project’s landscaping works include the restoration of the historic Tophane Square, which is poised to become one of the main public squares in Istanbul. Tophane Square will become the first museum square in Turkey that is located within Galataport Istanbul project site and bordered by two of Turkey’s most prominent cultural and artistic institutions, the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art and Mimar Sinan University Istanbul Museum of Painting and Sculpture. The Tophane Clock Tower, restored on-site by Galataport using a special technique, is located at the heart of the square, which will remain active throughout the year with a diverse program of events from culture and arts to design and fashion, becoming a center of attraction for tourists and residents alike.

The project is expected to attract around 1.5 million cruise liner passengers, including crew, to Istanbul every year. In total, Galataport Istanbul will welcome around 25 million visitors per year, including 7 million foreign tourists.

Historical Buildings

Post Office (Paket Postanesi) (1907-1911)

In the past, the first passenger terminal on the Karaköy waterfront has served as Türkiye Denizcilik Bankası A.Ş. Hospital and Parcel Post Office. The architect of the building, which is still known as Parcel Post Office as well as Galata Rüsumat (Customs) Office, is still unknown. During its first periods, the ground floor of the building was used as a passenger terminal, while upper floors housed administrative functions, such as the headquarters of the French-owned Istanbul Port, Dock and Warehouse Company and the Customs Office.

The Post Office was restored with meticulous effort within the scope of the Galataport Istanbul project, with special attention paid to its characteristic slate roof, and is now ready for its new functions with its leasable area of 6,200 square meters.

Çinili Han (1910-1911)

Built in 1910-1911 on reclaimed land, the still-standing Çinili Han initially served as a passenger terminal before being transformed into a post office by the General Directorate of Turkish Post following the construction of a new passenger terminal in 1940. The building was later used by Regional Customs Directorate during the transfer of the port as part of the Privatization Administration’s tender in 2013.

Merkez Han (1912-1914)

The Dock Company built two large buildings on Karaköy waterline between 1910 and 1914. The largest of these two buildings is the Merkez Han, which is located right next to the current Karaköy Passenger Terminal. Constructed between 1912 and 1914 on Rıhtım Street, the building served as the Head Office of Türkiye Denizcilik İşletmeleri A.Ş. until the Privatization Administration’s Salıpazarı Port Tender of May 2013.

Karaköy Passenger Terminal (1937-1940)

In the early 1930’s, there was an increase in the number of vessels visiting the Port of Istanbul, which brought a major boost in terms of passenger and cargo, taxing the capacity of existing wharfs and passenger terminals. In order to alleviate the resulting congestion, several arrangements were made to the Tophane wharf.

In 1936, the Ministry of Commerce and the General Directorate of Istanbul Port Works organized a joint architectural design competition for the construction of passenger terminal, which was won by the design submitted by architect Rebii Gorbon. The Passenger Terminal was built between Çinili Han and Merkez Han on a parcel of land previously occupied by Küçük Rıhtım Han, Panorama Han, Orta Han and Maritime Han, which were demolished. The terminal began serving passengers on July 1, 1940 and the building’s tower clock was designed and built by Mustafa Şem-i, watchmaker to the court of Abdul Hamid II.

The Karaköy Passenger Terminal remained in operation until May 2014.

As part of the Galataport Istanbul project, the Karaköy Passenger Terminal, alongside Merkez Han, Çinili Han and an old warehouse, was leased to Peninsula Hotels, a leading upscale hotel brand, for use as the upcoming Peninsula Istanbul Hotel.

Tophane Clock Tower

Tophane Clock Tower, also known as Nusretiye Clock Tower, is located in the Tophane neighborhood in Istanbul, right next to Nusretiye Mosque. Having built by Sultan Abdulmecid in the years 1847-1848, this clock tower is a four-story structure including the clock, which gradually narrows down towards the top. Each of the four façades were designed identically. Abdulmecid’s tughra s(royal signature) is located on the gate facing the sea.

Historical Buildings in the Vicinity

Kılıç Ali Pasha Mosque and Complex

Grand Admiral Kılıç Ali Pasha Mosque and Complex, which is located in Tophane, was designed and built by Mimar Sinan. A member of the retinue of Hayreddin Barbarossa, whom he trained under to become a mariner, Kılıç Ali Pasha took part in the conquest of Cyprus, and was subsequently made the Grand Admiral position. He launched numerous expeditions into the Mediterranean, adding to the tallies of his distinguished career. He commissioned Mimar Sinan to build a mosque in Tophane.

Originally, the mosque and complex was located on the coastline at the forefront of the wharf that provided access to Beyoğlu. The complex is now surrounded by other buildings as the coastline was gradually reclaimed from 1745 onwards. The complex consists of a mosque surrounded by the outer walls, a madrasa and a Turkish bathhouse.

The Kılıç Ali Pasha complex includes the türbe, or tomb of Kılıç Ali Pasha, which is located in a fenced-off area bordering the southern exterior wall of the mosque. The türbe was built in 1580-1581, at the same time as the mosque. Also, the entrance of the madrasa looks to the north of the complex.

Nusretiye Mosque

The Nusretiye Mosque was commissioned by Mahmud II in 1826. Also known as the Tophane Mosque, Nusretiye Mosque is located on the Meclis-i Mebusan Street where the Tophane-i Amire Arabacılar Kışlası Mosque, built by Selim III, stood until the 1823 Firuzağa Fire. The fire destroyed the mosque alongside 48 other buildings in the vicinity, thus, Mahmud II ordered a new mosque to be built on the same spot, which was built by the architect Kirkor Balyan.

Tophane Pavilion

In line with a tradition that dates back to the 16^th century, sultans, viziers and top state officials occasionally visited Tophane to inspect the cannon foundries. The tradition necessitated a special building to accommodate the visitors, resulting in the construction of the Tophane Pavilion.

The Tophane Pavilion, which is still standing, was built by the British architect William James Smith in 1852, during the reign of Sultan Abdulmejid. The pavilion is located between the Nusretiye Mosque and the Tophane Fountain. The two-story masonry structure has dimensions of 10 meters to 22 meters, and is situated in parallel with the coastline.

The pavilion housed many important events in its history. It is where Abdulmejid accepted Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia, younger brother of Tsar Alexander II, in 1858. The Greco-Turkish war of 1897 was formally ended with a peace treaty signed in the Tophane Pavilion in the presence of ambassadors of the Great Powers.

Tophane-i Âmire

The cannon foundries originally built by Mehmed II and expanded by Bayezid II, were demolished during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent to be replaced by a more modern and larger facility. The Tophane-i Âmire, was located right under the hill of Cihangir, around 100 steps away from the coast. Other than the cannon foundry, Suleiman also commissioned a barracks, named Topçular Kışlası, for the foundry workers, which is situated on the seafront.

Tophane-i Âmire and the Tophane quarter itself continued to develop during the rule of Suleiman the Magnificent, not only as a military center but also as a residential neighborhood with new pavilions and villas built on the coastline.

The Tophane facility built by Suleiman was demolished in a fire in 1720. The current building, featuring five large domes, was constructed between 1730 and 1740. The new cannon foundry was built alongside a pavilion for the Sultan, as well as a large cistern, which was supplied with water using the Taksim water line established in 1730 by Mahmud I. This was followed by the Tophane (Mahmud I) fountain in 1732. Located on the Tophane Square, the fountain is a four-sided, monumental structure, and is regarded as one of the finest examples of Turkish rococo architecture with its engraved marble façades. The fountain features three separate inscriptions that surround the entire structure.

In 1745, all Tophane buildings underwent restoration in a project developed and supervised by Mustafa Aga, who was the Chief Artillery Officer of the army and an architect. During these efforts, the shoreline was pushed out 50 meters by land filling. During the reign of Mustafa III (1757-1774), Baron de Tott was implemented to modernize the artillery corps, and many plots of land in the vicinity were purchased by the state in 1793 under Selim III to build new cannon foundries.

Selim III brought artillery officers and cannon founders from France to build new, mobile artillery pieces. New training grounds were established to facilitate artilleryman training, which led to the removal of the cannons and trees on the Tophane Square to make room for a shooting range.

Selim III also moved the barracks of the gun carriage drivers from Ahırkapı to Tophane, and built a large artillerymen barracks complex on the seafront that consisted of three buildings. Most of the damages commissioned by Selim III were damaged in the Firuzağa Fire of 1823.

Mahmud II ordered a new, ornate building for the Chief Artillery Officer. Built as the Artilleryman Barracks between 1823 and 1825, the building would later serve as the headquarters of the Chief of Artillery Corps following the Ottoman military reforms. The barracks was built on the seafront to facilitate transportation. The Tophane Clock Tower, which is still standing, was built between 1847 and 1848.

Location and Transport Options

Located between the Karaköy Pier and Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Fındıklı Campus, Galataport Istanbul is set to become one of the most easily accessible locations in the city, thanks to,

- its close proximity to public transport options such as metro, tram, Marmaray and bus stops,

- ease of access by sea, thanks to the Karaköy and Kabataş piers in the vicinity,

- drop-off and pick-up points for taxi and sea taxi services.