Bahçeşehir University Sheds Light on History

Very important remains have been uncovered at the Edirne New Palace excavation, selected as one of the "11 Important Excavations Illuminating Anatolian History" and led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Özer, faculty member of the Department of Architecture at the Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Architecture and Design. The kitchen hearths, among the most important facilities of the palace kitchen, the matbah-ı amire, were unearthed. The remains show that, like sections of Topkapı Palace, there were sections with hearths here as well.

 

THE GOAL IS TO PASS IT ON TO FUTURE GENERATIONS
 

Excavation director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Özersaid the following about their work:

 

"The field work of the Edirne Palace excavations, which we have been carrying out with a large team since 2009, is conducted in the summer because of weather conditions and the academic duties of the team members. During the rest of the year, archival, laboratory and office work is carried out. In this work, in which significant progress has been made so far, the focus has been especially on the Palace Kitchen (Matbah-ı Amire) and the Kum Kasrı Bath and its surroundings. During this work, important data on the palace's infrastructure (clean water and wastewater systems and city wall remains) have been uncovered. In this planning, the aim was to conserve and restore these structures, which partly survive and require urgent intervention, before they disappear completely, and to pass them on to future generations. In this context, conservation and restoration work has begun in parallel with the excavations at the Palace Kitchen (Matbah-ı Amire) and the Kum Kasrı Bath, for which survey, restitution and restoration projects have been prepared. When this work, interrupted due to climatic conditions and some technical reasons, is completed, two important structures of Edirne Palace, the Matbah-ı Amire and the Kum Kasrı Bath, will have been saved from ruin, and with functions suited to their character they will make a significant contribution to the culture and tourism of both Edirne and our country. Of Edirne Palace, which consisted of around 100 structures and saw intensive use from 1361, when Edirne joined the Ottoman lands, until the early 20th century, only around 10 structures have survived to the present day. It is known that Edirne Palace, which at its peak housed a total population of around 40,000, including 6,000 staff, had dozens of buildings with different functions, including 18 baths, 8 small mosques and 17 pavilions.

 

IT WAS SET ON FIRE AND BURNED

 

Stating that the Saray-ı Cedide-i Amire began to be built in 1450, in the last years of the reign of Murad II, in the area west of the Tunca River in the part of Edirne known as Sarayiçi, Özer gave the following information about the palace:

 

"This palace, many of whose buildings were constructed especially during the reign of Mehmed II and which housed around 100 structures with very different functions, extended over a very large area. Of the palace, which was severely damaged from the late 19th century onward, especially during the Balkan and Ottoman–Russian wars, and many of whose buildings were destroyed, only a few structures have survived to the present day (the Matbah-ı Amire, Babüssade, Cihannüma Pavilion, Kum Kasrı Bath, Adalet Pavilion, Fatih Bridge, Kanuni Bridge, Hunting Lodge, Water Distribution Building, Namazgahlı Fountain, etc.). Some of these surviving structures are in ruins, while others survive thanks to repairs. The New Palace, damaged and repaired during the Russian invasion of Edirne on 22 August 1829, was being used as an arsenal at that time. When the Russians attacked Edirne again in 1874, the palace buildings used as an arsenal were set on fire by order of the commanders in charge at the time and largely destroyed, with only a very small part left standing. Sultan Abdülaziz, who began a European tour on the yacht Sultaniye in 1867, traveled to Paris and London after Toulon. Because the Sultan might pass through Edirne on his return, some repairs and additions were made, especially to the Cihannüma Pavilion. However, the return journey was made via Belgium, Koblenz, Prussia, Vienna and Budapest, and by steamer on the Danube. In 1875, upon news that the Russians would occupy Edirne, the Edirne New Palace buildings used as an arsenal were set on fire by order of the then Governor of Edirne, Cemil Pasha, to prevent the ammunition from falling into Russian hands. Thus the Edirne New Palace, left in great danger with explosions that lasted for days, was reduced to ruins. The fire lasted three days, and the valuable pieces and remaining tiles from the unburned parts of the palace were donated by Governor Rauf Pasha to representatives of some foreign states."

 

THE PLANS FOR THE CONQUEST OF ISTANBUL WERE MADE HERE

 

Stating that Mehmed II, who was born in Edirne and spent his childhood here, planned and prepared the conquest of Istanbul from this palace, Özer said about the excavation: "In recent years, increasingly rapid steps have been taken in the excavation, repair and conservation work carried out with the institutional support of the Office of the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Bahçeşehir University. In the coming years, following work to prepare survey, restitution and restoration projects for the palace's Adalet Pavilion, Cihannüma Pavilion, Water Distribution Building and Hunting Lodge, the restoration of these structures is planned. In this way, at least the few surviving structures of the Edirne New Palace will be brought back to life."