CİBALİ TOBACCO FACTORY

Cibali, Fatih - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°01'26.3"N 28°57'35.0"E / 41.023972, 28.959722



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CİBALİ TÜTÜN FABRİKASI

Behind ancient Byzantine walls stands the oldest part of Istanbul. These ramparts distinguish and define Cibali, the neighborhood where Kadir Has University's main campus is situated. It is only a few meters away from the Haliç, the harbor inlet known to English speakers as "the Golden Horn," since Ottoman times.

Cibali takes its name from the time of the conquest of Istanbul when, according to common belief, a soldier from Bursa named Cebe Ali Bey entered the city by breaking through the rampart doors. Since that time this entryway into the city has been called Ali Bey, and the neighborhood, Cibali.

Located nearby, in the present neighborhood of Unkapanı, was the Zeugma, a port which opened into the city's economic center during the Ottoman era and which continued to be used until the 19th century. Activity around the Zeugma brought liveliness to the surrounding area, but Cibali also benefited from this hustle and bustle: Ottoman warehouses and caulkers along the Haliç shore of Cibali gave witness to the flourishing businesses in that part of the area.

In earlier times Cibali's harbor called the Puteae, or Porto del Pozzo, was lined with warehouses bursting with goods destined for the consumers of Istanbul. The passageways through the Cibali gates were instrumental in getting these goods from the port and into the city. After the conquest the Cibali area started to develop. Cibali became a favorite of sea captains and famous seafarers like Murad Reis, Mustafa Paşa and Kemal Reis all had mansions in the neighborhood.

Two factors link Cibali with Istanbul's identity : fire and tobacco. As Cibali was a trade centre and there were many caulkers using flammable materials in the construction of ships, there were, of course, many fires. If there were northeast winds, these fires, both outside and inside the Haliç walls, represented a clear danger, especially because the city at that time was composed of so many wooden houses.  During this time many of the larger conflagrations were called "Cibali fires".

The Cibali Tobacco Factory, founded in 1884, was an important institution that changed the neighborhood socially and economically. Around the turn of the century its large factory building housed both tobacco processing and cigarette production. There were several reasons for locating such a large factory in this small neighborhood. At that time tobacco customs were collected in that area and many people who supplied the factory's manpower lived nearby.

Indeed, if we look at the many photographs taken during the 1900s that document the life of the factory, the picture is quite remarkable. There were 1500 women and 662 men (a total of 2162 people) working there. The Tekel Cibali Cigarette Factory was, in fact, a small town complete with local police and civil servants, hospitals, a day care centre, grocery stores, schools, a fire department, sport facilities, trade unions, and restaurants.

On March 1, 1925, after forty years of French administration and with the establishment of the republic, the control of the factory passed to the state. For many years the factory processed, stored and sold tobacco. Then in 1995 the factory, most of which by that time had been shut down, was totally abandoned.

KADİR HAS UNIVERSITY CİBALİ CAMPUS

In 1997, the Finance Ministry handed the buildings over to Kadir Has University. Dr. Mehmet Alper was appointed architect in charge of restoration and renovation of the factory buildings into a university campus. In March 1998 the work began. Working together with university planners, the architects in charge of the restoration have taken great care to preserve the original character and architectural integrity of the buildings, while at the same time enhancing the space to suit the university's needs. 

Kadir Has University (KHU) was founded in 1997, in Istanbul. The university, with its five faculties of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Economics and Administrative Sciences, Communication, Law and Fine Arts, as well as its several vocational schools, is dedicated to becoming a leader in educational and cultural fields in Turkey, as well as establishing itself as an international center for research and scientific development.

Between 1998 and 2002, the Tekel Cibali Cigarette Factory was transformed, by the Kadir Has Foundation, from a warehouse that produced and sold tobacco into an institution of higher learning. After four years of restoration work, Kadir Has University Cibali campus officially opened its doors on February 13, 2002. Now the new KHU campus combines elegant facades, sunny atria, and large, airy interiors with quality education and research facilities.

Thus, the new campus of KHU represents a major step in fulfilling the university's mission of building a future out of the country's past, by establishing in the heart of Istanbul a hub where culture, education and scientific research meet to address the changing needs of Turkey and the world.

The interior of Kadir Has University’s Cibali campus measures over 45,000 square meters, with classrooms, labs, and the university’s central library, in addition to faculties, institutes, the rectorate and deans' offices.

Faculties
Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences, Law Faculty, Faculty of Communications, Faculty of Art and Design, Faculty of Applied Sciences

LOCATION SATELLITE MAP



WEB SITE : Kadir Has University Cibali Campus

MORE INFO & CONTACT
E-Mail : danisma@khas.edu.tr
Phone : +90 212 533 6532
Fax : +90 212 533 6515

These scripts and photographs are registered under © Copyright 2018, respected writers and photographers from the internet. All Rights Reserved.

CİBALİ CISTERN

Cibali, Fatih - İstanbul Turkey

GPS : 41°01'26.3"N 28°57'35.0"E / 41.023972, 28.959722



PHOTOGRAPHS ALBUM

Kadir Has University is waiting for municipal consent to start restoration and conservation of the Cibali Cistern under its campus by the Golden Horn. University Rector Mustafa Aydın says the historical structure will serve as another story for the Rezan Has Museum that sits on its upper floor

Dating back to the 11th century, the Cibali Cistern bears an eclectic architectural design because the columns were brought from other structures dating back to later times. The cistern consists of 48 domes and 20 columns. "The archaeologists can discern which piece comes from which century by examining the way the brickwork is laid," Kadir Has University Rector said.  The excavation work consists of uncovering the soil that was dumped on the ground in the following century after the structure stopped functioning as a cistern.

One of these cisterns was built on the area that is now under our school, Kadir Has University. This ancient cistern was built during the Byzantine Era. The cistern was first discovered in 1944 by the Archeological Museum in an excavation. According to academical research by the Istanbul Archeology Museum, it belongs to the 7th century. This academical research was done when this building was being used as Tekel.

However, over the years as the factory expanded and more space was required, and although not officially documented, we can conclude that some reconstruction took place and some of the air ventilation ducts were shut down and other annex buildings were constructed on this site. When the factory finally closed down in 1994 everything was left as it was and no renovation work was carried out. The government then sold the building to a private investor, Kadir Has.

The Has Foundation then began its renovations works and in February 22, 2005 opened their Faculty of Fine Arts. The University’s present car park area sits above the old cistern, it is assumed that when the Tekel factory was built its foundation works covered the whole area thus closing down the air vents and ducts of the cisterns.

It is believed that the ventilation ducts were closed many many years before and the area was used for a different purpose, thus the Has Foundation, when building the campus site, kept the area clear of buildings for future consideration of any re-excavation works that may take place and reserved the area for a car park.

Today, it has been restored with the name of Rezan Has Golden Horn Cultural Museum. In fact, at the moment you enter the cistern, you can feel yourself as if you are living those ancient times, no matter how decrepit it is.

The Rezan Has Golden Horn Cultural Museum documents the rich daily-life of the Golden Horn hidden in its historical texture. It consists of a 48-pillar Byzantine water cistern which is still being restored. The features of the cistern inside the Rezan Has Golden Horn Cultural Museum are its reflections of the Byzantine Era. The very first pillar in the entrance has the motif of leaves and other pillars have the design of the Cross.

These pillars are not in one significant shape and size. They are all different from each other, and because of that historians and archeologists consider that these pillars were taken from parts of other structures. However, as in most of the other cisterns in Istanbul, the Rezan Has cistern also has a parallel pillar design, both horizontally and vertically.

Some corridors have been closed off with bricks. There is a myth about these closed corridors. It is said that the corridors went all the way to Hagia Sophia. The length of the tunnel was believed to start from Cibali and to end at Eminönü.

There is an Ottoman hamam right above, which are exhibiting in the Rezan Has Museum. The hamam dates back to the early 17th century, its makers probably wanted to benefit from the water storage area and therefore they built it on top of the cistern. In the early 19th century, a tobacco factory was built on the asset that was closed in 1970. After the closing, the tobacco factory burned down, later to be taken over and restored by the university, which is entitled to use the asset for 49 years.

After the conquest of Istanbul, it began to be used as a Turkish Bath. The hammam parts were found after some hard work of excavations. According to research the hammam belongs to the 12 th  Century. Historical writings show us that this storage was also used by the workers and soldiers as a shelter before the eve of the Republic being formed during the war years.

Just beside the cistern are remainders of hammam that were left over from the 16th century. This hammam was restored by Dr. Mehmet Alper, who is an architect. The restoration studies of the cistern still continue and it will take at least two years to be opened to the public as a museum. However, being a student or a lecturer at the Kadir Has university gives one an advantage of veiwing the restoration works and the cistern before they are officially opened to the public.

The museum is positioned around this Turkish Bath and the cistern. In the main exhibition hall of the historical structure consisting of 15 columns, many works by explorers, artists and literarians who have investigated the Golden Horn and the daily life of the Golden Horn will be exhibited, supported by documents and academic research. This cistern that witnessed both the Byzantine and the Ottoman era is being awakened from its deep sleep and turned into a museum without touching its historical texture.  

LOCATION SATELLITE MAP



WEB SITE : Kadir Has University Cibali Campus

MORE INFO & CONTACT
E-Mail : danisma@khas.edu.tr
Phone : +90 212 533 6532
Fax : +90 212 533 6515

These scripts and photographs are registered under © Copyright 2017, respected writers and photographers from the internet. All Rights Reserved.