Evaluating Repairs and Interventions of the Fethiye Camii through the Perspective of Contemporary Conservation Ethics and Principles

Year 2019, Issue: 22, 401 - 427, 11.10.2019

Mine Esmer

Abstract

Fethiye Camii is located in Istanbul in the
Fatih district amidst the historic neighborhood
of Çarşamba. The current structure is comprised
of the churches of the Monastery of
Pammakaristos in the XIV. Regio built during
the Byzantine period. From the monastery,
nothing but two churches, four cisterns and a
burial chamber survive. In the Ottoman rule,
Pammakaristos was first in use as a monastery
for nuns and a little later it was put in use as the
Greek Patriarchate. At the end of the 16th century,
the churches of the monastery were converted
to a mosque called Fethiye to commemorate
the conquest of Azerbaijan and Georgia.
The monument has come to our day under this
name. In 1963, a section of the monument was
inaugurated as the Fethiye Museum. Fethiye
Camii has possessed various identities and has
served many functions and communities over
time. Currently the monument presents complex
problems of architectural history and conservation.
Multiple repairs throughout its long
history have resulted in various transformations
in its physical appearance. The very recent restoration
work begun in the museum section in
April 2018 has demonstrated the necessity of
evaluating the monument’s state of preservation.
This article examines its past repairs according
to internationally accepted values and
puts a special emphasis on 20th century repairs.

Keywords

Constantinople, Istanbul, Middle and Late Byzantine Period Churches, Fethiye Camii and Museum, Pammakaristos Monastery Churches, Preservation, Conservation, repair, Intervention, Contemporary principles of conservation

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