Abandoned for 57 years, Büyükada Rum Orphanage to be restored

Photos: Dilek Şen/bianet

Click to read the article in Turkish

An information meeting regarding the restoration of the Büyükada Rum Orphanage was held yesterday (August 27) at the yard of the orphanage.

Government and EU officials, NGO representatives, writers and citizens attended the meeting hosted by Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew.

Built in 1899 on İstanbul's Büyükada island, the orphanage is the second-largest wooden building in the world. It has been abandoned since 1964 and is in danger of collapse.

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'It's our common value'

Speaking at the meeting, Laki Vingas, the restoration project coordinator, said that a workshop will be held in the coming months to determine the function of the building once it is restored.

The state, the patriarchate, the local government and NGOs should take responsibility to bring the building back to İstanbul, he said. "Demonstrating and keeping alive this will is the sole meaningful step that we can take today," he remarked.

Patriarch Bartholomew said a cultural and architectural asset can be passed on to future generations with the restoration.

"Known all over the world for its architectural features, this building is also a monument to social solidarity, progressive education, altruism and compassion," he remarked. "It is the tangible and historical form of these spiritual values, which we desperately need today.

"It is the conscientious duty of everyone with citizen consciousness to put an end to the wasting away of the orphanage, which upsets us all because the orphanage is the common value of all of us and its fate is under our responsibility."

The speech of the patriarch:

büyükada rum yetimhanesi
restore ediliyor

patrik bartholomeos: mimari özellikleriyle tüm dünyaca bilinen bu bina aynı zamanda toplumsal dayanışmanın, ilerici eğitimin, fedakârlığın ve şefkatin abidesi pic.twitter.com/hKC1FuaxXI

— Dilek Şen (@ddileksen) August 27, 2021

The damage

Nazım Akkoyunlu, the deputy manager of BİMTAŞ, a municipal company that carries out the preliminary restoration project, said that a 30-people team completed the digital documentation, three-dimensional drawings with drone and laser support and surveying works in 45 days.

The building is completely damaged and 50 percent of its roof is destroyed, he noted.

"Sixty percent of the fourth floor has collapsed and 60 percent of the surface coverings of the third and fourth floors are broken. Floor beams have lost 60 percent of their load-bearing capacity throughout the building.

"A protective cover system and support elements should be placed in order to prevent the building from entering a demolition process.

"The building was observed by the KUDEB Conservation and Restoration Laboratory and 43 pieces of wood, one piece of brick, one piece of stone, three pieces of paint, four pieces of plaster and 18 pieces of mortar were taken as samples."

• Mayor of Princes' Islands Erdem Gül, Sub-governor of Princes' Islands Mustafa Ayhan, İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality BİMTAŞ Inc. Deputy General Manager Nazım Akkoyunlu, EU Turkey Delegation Chair Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, Europa Nostra Turkey Chair Burçin Altınsay-Özgüner, Princes' Islands Foundation Chair Halim Bulutoğlu, Orphanage Restoration Project Coordinator Laki Vingas, writers Orhan Pamuk and Ahmet Ümit and many citizens attended the meeting.

Music from Athens to Büyükada

After the speeches, composer Evanthia Reboutsika and her fellow musicians, who came to İstanbul for the meeting, gave a concert:

evanthia reboutsika ile müzisyen arkadaşları da oradaydı

fazlası için: https://t.co/4PPLhwZeZ2 pic.twitter.com/TXVJPJV27Q

— Dilek Şen (@ddileksen) August 27, 2021

(DŞ/VK)