http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=98770
I want to see the Turkish flag flying in Jaffa,’ says the Israeli architect of the joint project;
Ottoman era revived in Jaffa;
Turkey's Embassy in Tel Aviv will inaugurate an ancient cultural center in Jaffa, the Ottoman past of which goes back to 1517. ‘For me, the empire is coming back. I want to see the Turkish flag flying in Jaffa,’ says the Israeli architect of the joint project
FULYA ÖZERKAN
Jaffa, TEL AVIV – Turkish Daily News
The Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv will renovate a historic building and make it a Turkish Cultural Center in Jaffa, the Ottoman past of which is highly esteemed by the Israelis.
“We are planning to inaugurate the building in November or December, most probably during a high-level visit from Turkey,” said Barış Andiç, second secretary at the Turkish Embassy.
Jaffa is an ancient port city south of Tel Aviv with an almost 3,500 year-old history. The Ottoman Empire took over Jaffa in 1517 and expanded it outside the city walls given the rising population and construction boom. Beit Saria (Mutasarrıflık Binası) was built in 1894 outside the city walls and served as the office and residence of the Ottoman governor.
The Ottoman Empire had to withdraw from Jaffa after being defeated by the British army during World War I, resulting in the handover of the Ottoman building to the British in 1917. The last Ottoman governor, Hasan Bey, brought down the Ottoman flag and abandoned the building, where the British flag was hoisted in the following years, said Andiç.
Showing 19th century photos of both the office and the residence of the Ottoman governor situated side by side, Andiç said the office building – whose columns are seen in the picture – was bombed in 1948 during the struggle for Israel's independence from British mandate rule, while the residence remained standing.
“This (governor's) residence will be converted into a Turkish Cultural Center as part of the embassy,” he added. But there is also talk that the bombed office building of the Ottoman governor could be reconstructed in the future.
Turkish flag to be re-hoisted
Beit Saria has been vacant since 1968. In 2004 the Tel Aviv Municipality came up with a project to lease the building to the Turkish Embassy to function as a Turkish cultural center, by which time the restoration of its facade was almost complete.
Andiç said the historic ancient building was allocated to the Turkish government for 24 years in return for $1,800 monthly under an official rental contract signed with the Tel Aviv Municipality last month.
“What excites us is to re-fly the Turkish flag brought down by Hasan Bey 92 years ago,” said Andiç
Only the first and the second floors of the building will be restored as the Turkish Cultural Center, while the ground floor, which was part of the governor's residence in Ottoman times, has been allocated for tourist shops by the Tel Aviv Municipality.
Turkish construction company Yılmazlar, operating widely in Israel, won the tender for the re-building of Beit Saria.
“We are not pursuing profits and we'll even set aside extra money from our own budget to restore this building,” said Ahmet Arık, the company's official in charge for Israel.
Andiç said $1 million was allocated by the Turkish government to implement the project and that construction would start in a few weeks.
‘Empire is coming back'
The restoration of the Ottoman building is being jointly handled by Turkish and Israeli architects. Turkish Foreign Ministry architect Vedat Aykaç and Israeli architect Eyal Ziv are involved in the project.
Inspired by the Ottoman architecture, Ziv told the Turkish Daily News that he couldn't sleep at nights when he dreamed about the revival of the Ottoman history in Jaffa decades later.
“It is a very nice idea to bring the Ottoman Empire back here. For me, the empire is coming back. I want to see the Turkish flag flying in Jaffa,” he said. Not only the governor's building but also the whole square outside the city walls in Jaffa including the clock tower are being restored.
The Clock Square was built in 1901 in honor of Sultan Abdulhamid II's 25th anniversary on the throne and became the center of Jaffa.
“We have been working on this project for 10 years,” said Ziv.
The Israeli architect explained why the Ottomans moved outside the old city.
“The Ottomans (in Jaffa) found the inhabitants were living in very narrow streets in the old city around the city wall and they asked them to go outside and start settling outside the city wall. Nobody wanted to do this, so the Ottomans decided to move both the office and residence of the governor to show the inhabitants that the empire can live outside the city wall and that they can do the same,” he said.
“It was just the beginning of allowing people to understand that they can build outside the city wall.”
The gleam was quite visible in Ziv's eyes who said Ottoman rule in the 19th century brought a lot of prosperity to Jaffa.
“I believe in the future we will bring it back because it is the basis of the relationship between the Jews and Arabs,” he said.
Ziv believes the rebirth of ancient Ottoman architecture in Jaffa will be the return of the past identity of the old port city.
“The culture center and the (clock) square will look like exactly what it was like in the past. The empire and its history will be coming back.”
