The Pangaltı Armenian Cemetery was located in the
Pangaltı
Pangaltı (spelled Pangaaltı or Pancaldi in some older sources) is one of the four neighborhoods (together with Teşvikiye, Maçka and Osmanbey) within the Nişantaşı quarter of the Şişli district in Istanbul, Turkey.
It is home to the Cathe ...
quarter of Istanbul near
Taksim Square
Taksim Square ( tr, Taksim Meydanı, ), situated in Beyoğlu in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey, is a major tourist and leisure district famed for its restaurants, shops, and hotels. It is considered the heart of modern Istanbul, with the c ...
and originally belonged to the
Surp Agop Armenian Hospital
Surp Agop Hospital ( Turkish: Surp Agop Hastanesi) or Saint Jacob Armenian Hospital is a hospital in the Elmadağ neighborhood of Şişli district of Istanbul which was established in 1837 and continues to be operated by the Armenian Catholic c ...
.
In the 1930s it was demolished and was replaced with the
Taksim Gezi Park
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 ...
,
Divan Hotel,
Hilton Hotel
Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Hilton Hotels) is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton.
The original company was founded by Conrad Hilton. As ...
,
Hyatt Regency Hotel
Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vaca ...
, and the
TRT Radio Buildings.
It is considered to have been the largest non-Muslim cemetery in
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
's history.
History
The Pangaltı cemetery was founded in 1560 after an epidemic caused the Armenian community of
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
to petition
Sultan Suleyman.
It was enlarged in 1780 and enclosed by a wall in 1853. The
Pera district was very close to the cemetery, so an outbreak of cholera in 1865 led the government to ban burials and allocate them to the
Şişli Armenian Cemetery
The Şişli Armenian Cemetery is an Armenian cemetery in the Şişli district of Istanbul, Turkey which is operated and served by the Armenian community of Turkey.
Notable burials
* Hovhannes Arsharouni – Armenian Patriarch of Constantin ...
instead.
The Pangaltı cemetery was demolished in the 1930s
and in 1939 its marble tombstones were sold
and used to build the
Gezi Park's fountains and stairs.
Other parts of the cemetery were used to construct
Eminönü
Eminönü is a predominantly commercial waterfront area of Istanbul within the Fatih district near the confluence of the Golden Horn with the southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait and the Sea of Marmara. It is connected to Karaköy (historic G ...
square which was, along with Gezi Park, designed by city planner
Henri Prost
Henri Prost (February 25, 1874 – July 16, 1959) was a French architect and urban planner. He was noted in particularly for his work in Morocco and Turkey, where he created a number of comprehensive city plans for Casablanca, Fes, Marrakesh ...
.
In 2013, during excavation work for the reconstruction of Taksim square, 16 tombstones from the Armenian cemetery were discovered.
Legal Case
In 1932
Mesrob Naroyan, the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, filed a lawsuit for the return of the property,
but the Istanbul Municipality argued that he had been a legal non-entity in Turkey since 1916 (the position of Armenian Patriarchate had been officially suspended in 1916 as part of the
Armenian genocide
The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...
)
and therefore had no title to the land, even though he still functioned at the
Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople
The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople ( tr, İstanbul Ermeni Patrikhanesi; Western hy, Պատրիարքութիւն Հայոց Կոստանդնուպոլսոյ, ''Badriark'ut'iun Hayots' Gosdantnubolsoy'') is an autonomous See. The seat of ...
in
Kumkapı
Kumkapı (meaning 'sand gate' in Turkish) is a quarter in Fatih district of Istanbul. It is located along the northern shore of Marmara Sea. Up to recent times, Kumkapı is the center of the Armenian community of the city, boasting a school an ...
, Istanbul.
The Patriarchate acknowledged the lack of title, but argued legitimacy to represent the cemetery on behalf of both the Armenian Catholic Community and the Surp Agop Armenian Hospital.
The commission to investigate land ownership found the Patriarch's claims groundless, so title remained with the Istanbul municipality and the third party owners.
See also
*
Armenians in Turkey
Armenians in Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Ermenileri; hy, Թուրքահայեր, also Թրքահայեր, "Turkish Armenians"), one of the indigenous peoples of Turkey, have an estimated population of 50,000 to 70,000, down from a population of over 2 ...
*
Confiscated Armenian Properties in Turkey
The confiscation of Armenian properties by the Ottoman and Turkish governments involved seizure of the assets, properties and land of the country's Armenian community. Starting with the Hamidian massacres and peaking during the Armenian genoci ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pangalti Armenian Cemetery
Armenian cemeteries
Cemeteries in Istanbul
Demolished buildings and structures in Istanbul
Eastern Orthodox cemeteries
Şişli