The most exciting restoration/conservation project currently taking place in #Istanbul is doubtlessly that of the long-neglected Bukoleon Palace, an ancient #Byzantine structure built on the shores of the Marmara Sea in the 5th century.
The restoration work is being carried out by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (@IbbMiras) and is set to conclude by the end of this year. The Bukoleon Palace will be converted into an open-air museum.
There have been many exciting finds since conservation works began. A 1600 year old fountain (dubbed the oldest fountain in #Istanbul) and thousands of pieces of pottery are among the recent discoveries. @mhrpolat
As many #Byzantine sites in Istanbul (such as the Hagia Sophia and the Chora Monastery) face uncertain futures, it's good to see that other sites (such as the Bukoleon Palace and the Theodosian Walls) are receiving the care they deserve.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
#Ankara is too often portrayed as a model Turkish city, bereft of the cosmopolitan legacies of cities such as Istanbul and Izmir. I wrote about the little known non-Muslim history of Ankara in my first article for @AjamMC#Thread ajammc.com/2022/01/24/how…
"Modern-day understandings of Ankara’s history, influenced and shaped by the discourses of Turkish nationalism, seek to paint a picture of Ankara in the Ottoman era as a small, remote, ethnically, linguistically, and religiously homogeneous town."
"In the early decades of the Republic, as the new buildings, boulevards, parks, squares, and thoroughfares of modern Ankara were designed and constructed, the city’s non-Muslim cultural heritage was sidelined, and oftentimes destroyed."
The Jewish cemetery of #Salonica was once the largest Jewish cemetery in Europe, with over 350,000 graves. Its destruction began with the Hellenising policies of interwar Greece and concluded in 1942 during the Nazi occupation of the city. #Thread
Whereas the Jewish cemetery was destroyed and incorporated as part of the Aristotle University, #Salonica’s Dönme cemetery became a football field, and the city’s main Muslim cemetery became the International Fair Ground.
Though the vast majority of tombs in the Jewish cemetery belonged to #Sephardim, there were also many Ashkenazi tombs, as well as some headstones dating back to the Roman era.
Just finished making this map based on Avraham Galanté’s 1937 booklet on the synagogues of #Istanbul. There were once synagogues (Sephardic, Ashkenazi, and Romaniote) named after all the places on this map that Jews came to the city from. Some of them still exist today. #Thread
From the #Iberian peninsula there were synagogues named after: Portugal, Spain, Cordova, Granada, Aragon, and Catalonia. As well as two synagogues that are still standing today: Jaen / Çana located in Balat) and Majorca / Mayor (located in Hasköy)
From #Italy there were synagogues named after Sicily, Messina, Calabria, and Apulia. There is also the Italian Synagogue in #Galata that is still active today.