Tarihi Sinema Mezartaşı Oluyor - Constructing a Gravestone for Historic Theater in İstanbul

Constructing a gravestone for historic theater in Istanbul

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Among the manycomplaintsagainst the government for taking down important historicalstructureshas been added the Emek Theater.

For the last few years,administratorshave relocated the Roma people to theoutskirtsof the city,approvednew projects in the old city without theconsentof the public and left manyabandonedstructures behind.

Now officials of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality are talking about a shoppingmallproject that includes restaurants, stores, 10 theaters and a Madamme Tussauds museum, and they want to move the Emek Theater on top of these. The new project, which never was openly declared to the public, alsocoversthe Cercle d'Orient (Circle of Orient), İpek and Rüya Theaters of Yeşilçam Street. The Emek Theater was established in 1924 and originally known as "Melek' (Angel).

Architect Fatih Keskin, the only official from the planned project present at the meeting organized by Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, or İKSV, on April 14 at its new building, said there is not going to be anydestruction. According to the managers of the project and bureaucrats, the project cannot be defined as destruction. When asked what the project is, they reply, "We are going torelocatethe Emek Theater.'

Aparticipantat the conference made anironiccomparison. "The project showing Emek Theateratopthe construction seems like it is going to become its owngravestone.'

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