Istanbul’s Urban Public Space: Continuity and connections

Abstract

The long survivals of open public spaces is a major feature in Istanbul’s urban history. The ancient Hippdrome, preserving its original name as the horse square, in Turkish At Meydanı, is a key example, since the 17^th century also serving as an external courtyard to the Sultan Ahmet (Blue) Mosque. Such public spaces were shaped as parts of all 15^th and 16^th c sultan’s mosque complexes, those of Mehmet II, Bayezid II and Süleyman the Magnificent. They are still forming important urban nodes. 20^th century modifications affected all these spaces, conserving their basic qualities. Most significantly this was done in the Bayezid square as designed by Turgut Cansever in the 1950s. The concept of permanence, applied mainly to Italian cities by Aldo Rossi and other late 20^th c critics, is relevant also to the case of Istanbul’s urban spaces.