Taksim Gezi Park
| Taksim Gezi Park | |
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Taksim Gezi Park
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| Type | Urban park |
| Location | Istanbul, Turkey |
| Coordinates | 41°02′18″N 28°59′13″E / 41.03833°N 28.98694°ECoordinates: 41°02′18″N 28°59′13″E / 41.03833°N 28.98694°E |
| Created | 1943 |
| Operated by | Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality |
| Status | Open all year |
Taksim Gezi Park is an urban park next to Taksim Square, in Istanbul's Beyoğlu district (historically known as Pera.) It is one of the last green spaces in Beyoğlu and one of the smallest parks of Istanbul. In May 2013, plans to replace the park with a reconstruction of the former Taksim Military Barracks (demolished in 1940) intended to house a shopping mall sparked the nationwide 2013 protests in Turkey.
The Taksim Gezi Park is located at the former site of the Halil Pasha Artillery Barracks, a large square-shaped military barracks complex with an extensive open, drill-ground, which was constructed in 1806 near the "Frank and Armenian burial grounds", or the former Grand Champs des Morts.
From 1560 to 1939 the Pangaltı Armenian Cemetery was located on the northern section of today's Gezi Park, at the vicinity of the Surp Agop Hospital. The land plot of the cemetery was confiscated by the Turkish government as part of Henri Prost's plans to build Taksim Gezi Park and it was subsequently demolished in 1939. In 2013, during excavations conducted for the tunnel of Cumhuriyet Avenue as part of the pedestrianization project of Taksim Square, 16 tombstones from the cemetery were discovered.
Known in the 19th century as the Grand Artillery Barracks at Pera, the Halil Pasha Artillery Barracks complex (Turkish: Halil Paşa Topçu Kışlası) was built in 1806. The facade of the barracks was designed in the late Ottoman architecture, with Orientalist style details such as onion domes on the monumental entrance gates, which didn't belong to classical Ottoman architecture. The barracks suffered considerable damage during the 31 March Incident in 1909. The barracks, which was later transformed into Taksim Stadium in 1921, was demolished between 1939 and 1940 as part of Henri Prost's plans to build Taksim Gezi Park.
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Wikipedia