Pangaltı Armenian Cemetery Explained

Pangaltı Armenian Cemetery
Map Type:Turkey Istanbul
Established:c. 1560 - 1930
Country:Turkey
Location:Istanbul, Turkey
Coordinates:41.0423°N 28.9883°W
Type:Private Armenian Cemetery
Owner:Surp Agop Armenian Hospital

The Pangaltı Armenian Cemetery was located in the Pangaltı quarter of Istanbul near Taksim Square and originally belonged to the Surp Agop Armenian Hospital.[1] In the 1930s, it was demolished and was replaced with the Taksim Gezi Park, Divan Hotel, Hilton Hotel, Hyatt Regency Hotel, and the TRT Radio Buildings.[2] [3] [4]

It is considered to have been the largest non-Muslim cemetery in Istanbul's history.[5]

History

The Pangaltı cemetery was founded in 1560 after an epidemic caused the Armenian community of Constantinople to petition Sultan Suleyman.[6] It was enlarged in 1780 and enclosed by a wall in 1853.[7] The Pera district was very close to the cemetery, so an outbreak of cholera in 1865 led the government to ban burials and allocate them to the Şişli Armenian Cemetery instead.

The Pangaltı cemetery was demolished in the 1930s,[8] and in 1939 its marble tombstones were sold[9] and used to build the Gezi Park's fountains and stairs.[10] [11] Other parts of the cemetery were used to construct Eminönü square which was, along with Gezi Park, designed by city planner Henri Prost.[12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

In 2013, during excavation work for the reconstruction of Taksim square, 16 tombstones from the Armenian cemetery were discovered.[17]

Legal Case

In 1932, Mesrob Naroyan, the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, filed a lawsuit for the return of the property,[6] but the Istanbul Municipality argued that he had been a legal non-entity in Turkey since 1916 (the position of Armenian Patriarchate had been officially suspended in 1916 as part of the Armenian genocide) [18] and therefore had no title to the land, even though he still functioned at the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople in Kumkapı, Istanbul.[19]

The Patriarchate acknowledged the lack of title, but argued legitimacy to represent the cemetery on behalf of both the Armenian Catholic Community and the Surp Agop Armenian Hospital.

The commission to investigate land ownership found the Patriarch's claims groundless, so title remained with the Istanbul municipality and the third party owners.

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Tan. Gokhan. Varolmayanın tescili. 21 December 2012. Radikal. 2011-07-24. Turkish.
  2. News: Nalci. Tamar. Istanbul Radio was an Armenian Cemetery. 21 December 2012. Midyat. Turkish. https://web.archive.org/web/20170820040615/http://www.midyathabur.com/istanbul-radyosu-arazisi-ermeni-mezarligiydi-79926h.htm. 20 August 2017. dead.
  3. Book: Koc, Vehbi. My life story: the autobiography of a Turkish businessman. 1977. Vehbi Koç Foundation. 238.
  4. Book: Tuğlacı, Pars. İstanbul Ermeni kiliseleri. 1991. Pars Yayın. İstanbul. 9789757423003.
  5. Book: Büyükünal, Feriha. Bir zaman tüneli: Beyoğlu. 2006. Doğan Kitap. Güneşli, İstanbul. 9789752934337. 1. baskı.. 21. Turkish.
  6. News: Nalci. Tamar. Bir Gasp Hikâyesi. 21 December 2012. Bianet. August 27, 2011. Turkish.
  7. Book: Göksu Özdoğan, Günay. Türkiye'de Ermeniler : cemaat, birey, yurttaş. 2009. İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi Yayınları. Şişli, İstanbul. 9786053990956. 1. baskı.. Turkish.
  8. News: Greenhouse. Emile. The Armenian Past of Taksim Square. The New Yorker. June 28, 2013.
  9. Web site: In Istanbul's Heart, Leader's Obsession, Perhaps Achilles' Heel . . 2013-06-07 . 2013-06-27 .
  10. Web site: Learning From Taksim Square: Architecture, State Power, and Public Space In Istanbul . . 2013-06-14 . 2013-06-27 .
  11. News: Perrier. Guillaume. Sous le parc occupé d'Istanbul, un cimetière arménien. Le Monde. June 11, 2013. French. Le terrain donné par le sultan se trouve aujourd'hui au nord de la place Taksim, occupé par une partie du parc Gezi, quelques hôtels de luxe, des immeubles et un bâtiment de la Radio télévision turque (TRT). De ce vaste terrain, seul l'hôpital Sourp Hagop subsiste. Le reste, qui appartenait à la communauté, a été spolié par la République. Le cimetière a été entièrement détruit dans les années 1930 et ses pierres tombales ont été réutilisées dans la construction d'un nouveau centre urbain par l'urbaniste Henri Prost, l'auteur du plan d'aménagement d'Istanbul choisi par Atatürk..
  12. News: Tan. Gokhan. Varolmayanın tescili. 21 December 2012. Radikal. 2011-07-24. Turkish. Mezartaşlarının çoğu, şehir planlamacısı Henri Prost'un tasarladığı yeni Eminönü Meydanı'nın onarımında ve Gezi Parkı'nın merdivenlerinin yapımında kullanılır..
  13. Book: Tarih ve toplum. 1987. Taruh ve Toplum: Aylık Ansiklopedik Dergi. Issues: 37-48. 20 January 2013. 86. Turkish. Mezar taşlarının büyük kısmı ise, Eminönü Meydanfnın onannıında kullamlmıştır..
  14. News: Karakasli. Karin. Geçmise direnmek. Agos. June 6, 2013. Turkish. Mezar taslarinin çogu, sehir planlamacisi Henri Prost’un tasarladigi yeni Eminönü Meydani’nin onariminda ve Gezi Parki’nin merdivenlerinin yapiminda kullanilir.. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140106040347/http://www.agos.com.tr/karin-karakasli-gecmise-direnmek-5202.html. January 6, 2014.
  15. Book: Pamukciyan, Kevork. Ermeni kaynaklarından tarihe katkılar. 2003. Aras Yayıncılık. İstanbul. 9757265535. Turkish.
  16. Çetintaş. Burak. İstanbul: Şehri yıkarak tarihe geçenler. NTV Tarih. December 2012. 47. Turkish.
  17. News: ERTÜRK. Ali Ekber. Taksim'de Ermeni mezarları çıktı. Aksam. 29 June 2013. Turkish.
  18. Book: copyed., Zaven Der Yeghiayan,... ; transl. from the Armenian by Ared Misirliyan. My patriarchal memoirs. 2002. Mayreni publ.. Barrington (R.I.). 9781931834056. Ghazarian, annotated by Vatche.
  19. Book: Cagatay, Soner. Islam, secularism, and nationalism in modern Turkey: who is a Turk?. Routledge. 9781134174485. 21 December 2012. 135. 2006-05-02.

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