Conservation proposals for the 19 th century churches in Kayseri

Abstract

The history of Christian population in Kayseri, dates back to the times when Christianity was still a secret religion. Armenians and Greeks continued their existence under the protection of the Ottoman Empire. Their influence and role (who were mostly occupied with trade and crafts), on the urban culture and the formation of urban fabric was remarkably high. Although Ottoman state offered freedom to the nonmuslims in their beliefs, traditions and identities, heir daily life is controlled by certain rules. Their architectural activity was restricted; such that construction of new churches was not allowed, restorations were only possible by permission from the sultan, and domes and bell towers were prohibited. Westernisation movement and pressures of Europe and Russia resulted in the declarations of Tanzimat and Islahat, offering great changes in the lives of non-muslims. These developments gave non-muslims the statute of minority. This statute enabled them to express their economic and cultural accumulation, best probably by means of church building. Another development was the desolation of the Ottoman state system for a long time, which gives rise to the activities of missionaries. Thus, in addition to the Gregorian and Orthodox churches, Protestants and Catholics also started to have their churches. About the 130 churches at the end of 19th century can be considered as the reflections of these changes in Kayseri. However, the events which enabled the construction of the churches led to a chaos in time and ended up in deportation of Armenians, and the population exchange between Greeks in Anatolia and Muslims in Greece, which meant abandonment of churches. Some of them were demolished by vandalism, pillage or urbanisation. The surviving churches were gone under private ownership, and used in different functions harming their architectural identity, without regarding their documentary, artistic, historical and cultural heritage value. Another danger these churches face is dilapidation. All of the churches which still stand today exhibit damages due to above mentioned factors. These churches with the European and Istanbul influences they exhibit are the noticeable examples o westernisation in Kayseri, reflecting the socio-economic structure and the architectural character of their period. In addition to their documentary value, they also make great artistic contributions to the urban fabric. These values necessitate preserving these buildings which structured the thesis. The phases of the study can be summarised as; the survey of the churches in and around Kayseri, depiction of their physical characteristics and the analysis of the social and physical structure of the settlements they were in, defining their existing conditions, assessment and discussion of conservation problems and methods. The survey and the literary sources revealed that 39 churches are still standing and 56 are demolished. Existing churches were grouped into four categories according to their state of preservation; a) well preserved, b) badly preserved, c) preserved with major changes and d) partially existing. Badly preserved churches form the core of the thesis. Churches under this category were measured and drawn to 1/200 scale, examined in detail regarding their location, history, plan schema, construction techniques, decoration, and their damage levels. Churches in other categories were studied by presenting the existing drawings and photographs, in order to define their position in the church architecture of the Kayseri region. Beginning with the discussion of conservation problems the proposals are developed considering the headings like; legal and institutional dimensions, economic resources and the present facts of the persons who are concerned. The restoration and re-use proposals for each building are developed considering the least intervention in order to preserve the original architectural characteristics. The conditions and needs of the settlements are the other important factors. Yet, the current social structure of the environment is not suitable to reuse the churches. The proposals exceed the scale of the each settlement because other dimensions like the relationship between the settlements and the city centre and architectural, social and natural characteristics are also considered. Grouping these settlements with these considerations defines some excursion routes that would be effective in improving the cultural life of Kayseri. While the churches in these routes are planned to be kept alive by cultural functions, proposals are developed according to the particular needs of the settlements for the other churches departed from the excursion routes.

Özet

Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’na bağlı gayrimüslimler için 19. yüzyıl, önemli değişimlerin yaşandığı bir dönemdir. Batılılaşma hareketleri ve diğer gelişmelerin devamında yayınlanan Tanzimat Fermanı ile tanınan haklar, bu yüzyılda ticari etkinliklerini artırarak ekonomik düzeylerini yükselten gayrimüslimlere çok sayıda yeni kilise yapabilecekleri bir ortam hazırlamıştır. Önemli oranda Ermeni ve Rum nüfusu barındıran Kayseri de bu gelişmelerden etkilenmiştir. Yapı ustaları ve mimarları ile tanınan kent bu dönemde, ayrıntılarda Batı etkilerinin izlenebildiği kiliselerle donatılmıştır. Mübadele ve tehcirle terk edilen, vandalizm, kötü kullanım ya da bakımsızlık gibi nedenlerle hasar gören bu kiliseler, dönemlerinin sosyal ve mimari yapısını yansıtan birer belgedir. Kent dokusuna yaptıkları estetik katkı ise korunmalarını gerekli kılan bir diğer nedendir. Çalışmanın, bu etkenlerle yönlenen amacı; daha önce envanteri yapılmamış söz konusu kiliselerin tespiti, fotoğraf ve rölövelerle belgelenmesi, bugünkü durum ve korunma problemlerinin belirlenmesi ve koruma önerileri geliştirilmesidir. Kiliseleri, bulundukları yerleşimlerle birlikte değerlendirmeyi amaçlayan öneriler; yasal ve örgütsel boyutları, kaynak sağlanması, girişimcilerin birikim ve deneyimleri vb. açılardan da ele alınmış, onarım ve yeniden işlevlendirme önerileri geliştirilirken ise yapıların özgün mimari karakterlerinin bozulmamasına özen gösterilmiştir. Yerleşimlerin birbirleri ve kent merkezi ile ilişkileri, mimari ve doğal dokularının sürekliliği göz önüne alınarak, kentin tanıtımı ve sosyal-kültürel hayatının canlandırılmasını hedefleyen rotalar belirlenmiştir. Bu rotalarda yer alan kiliselerin kültür, eğitim, toplantı vb. işlevlerle kullanılmaları önerilmiştir.