Taşkızak Naval Shipyard () was a shipyard of the

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces (), or Turkish Navy (), is the naval warfare service branch of the TAF. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was established as the ''Directorate o ...

located at the Golden Horn in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, Turkey. Established in 1455, a big part of the shipyard was relocated to the Istanbul Naval Shipyard in Tuzla, Istanbul in 2000.

History

The establishment of Taşkızak Naval Shipyard started on 15 December 1455 on the order of

Ottoman Sultan The sultans of the Ottoman Empire (), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to Dissolution of the Ottoman Em ...

Mehmed II Mehmed II (; , ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror (; ), was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from August 1444 to September 1446 and then later from February 1451 to May 1481. In Mehmed II's first reign, ...

(). It was called ) for "Imperial Shipyard", where "tersane" was derived from for English: "dock". Shipbuilding activities were carried out in the Golden Horn hundreds of years before the

Conquest of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city was captured on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 55-day siege which ha ...

in 1453. All ships of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

were built in the Golden Horn. During the Ottoman era, large shipyards were established on the northern coastline of the Golden Horn, merging the smaller Byzantine ones. In the beginning, small wooden boats were built. Later on, larger ships started to be built with the advancement of shipbuilding technique. During the

Bayezid II Bayezid II (; ; 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, Bayezid consolidated the Ottoman Empire, thwarted a pro-Safavid dynasty, Safavid rebellion and finally abdicated his throne ...

() period, the shipyards underwent rehabilitation. During the reign of Sultan

Selim I Selim I (; ; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute (), was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is ...

(), the shipyard took its fundamental form. In the 16th century, Ottoman governor Güzelce Kasım Pasha was tasked with the bringing of craftsmen and journeymen from the Gallipoli Shipyard to reinforce the Tersane-i Amire. During the service time of Ottoman admiral

Hayreddin Barbarossa Hayreddin Barbarossa (, original name: Khiḍr; ), also known as Hayreddin Pasha, Hızır Hayrettin Pasha, and simply Hızır Reis (c. 1466/1483 – 4 July 1546), was an Ottoman corsair and later admiral of the Ottoman Navy. Barbarossa's ...

, many shipbuilding masters from

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

and

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

were transferred to the shipyard. After that date, large

galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships developed in Spain and Portugal. They were first used as armed cargo carriers by Europe, Europeans from the 16th to 18th centuries during the Age of Sail, and they were the principal vessels dr ...

s were built. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the shipyard was unique in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

world, and comparable only to the shipyards in the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

. The technological features of the ships built in the shipyard have changed over the centuries, which can be summarized mainly in three different periods. Building of rowing ships that continued until mid of the 17th century, sailing ships until mid of the 19th century, and steamships then after. The defeat of the

Ottoman fleet The Ottoman Navy () or the Imperial Navy (), also known as the Ottoman Fleet, was the naval warfare arm of the Ottoman Empire. It was established after the Ottomans first reached the sea in 1323 by capturing Praenetos (later called Karamürsel ...

at the naval

Battle of Navarino The Battle of Navarino was a naval battle fought on 20 October (O.S. 8 October) 1827, during the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829), in Navarino Bay (modern Pylos), on the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, in the Ionian Sea. Allied ...

(1827) marked almost the end of the sailing warship era. From 1830 on, American experts came to the fore in Ottoman shipbuilding technology. The shipyard area expanded over time to the Kağıthane Creek in the northwest. After the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, Tersane-i Amire was divided into two parts for the construction of military and civilian ships. The shipyard is spread over an area of , and has a -long quay. There are three

dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

s, and two construction

slipway A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving smal ...

s. In the 1570s, the number of shipyard personnel was about 2,650. Through changes in the administrative structure, this number decreased to around 800 in the late 17th century. In parallel with the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, the shipyard in the Golden Horn attained a fundamental organization, and became so the central base of the Ottoman maritime activities, which were initially carried out at Gallipoli Shipyard. Taşkızak means literally "Stone slipway".

Relocation

The two road bridges,

Atatürk Bridge Atatürk Bridge () is a road bridge across the Golden Horn in Istanbul, Turkey. It is named after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey but is sometimes called the Unkapanı Bridge after the district on ...

and

Galata Bridge The Galata Bridge (, ) is a bridge that spans the Golden Horn in Istanbul, Turkey. From the end of the 19th century in particular, the bridge has featured in Turkish literature, theater, poetry and novels. The current Galata Bridge is just the la ...

, spanning the

Golden Horn The Golden Horn ( or ) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with the Bosphorus Strait at the point where the strait meets the Sea of Marmara, the waters of the ...

, made the works at the shipyard difficult, and for the ships to come in and go out. Therefore, it was planned to relocate the shipyard to the

Istanbul Naval Shipyard Istanbul Naval Shipyard (), also known as Pendik Naval Shipyard, is a naval shipyard of the Turkish Navy on the northeastern coast of the Sea of Marmara in Tuzla, Istanbul, Turkey. It is the largest shipbuilding facility in Turkey. Right after t ...

Tuzla Tuzla (, , ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, third-largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the administrative center of Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 110,979 inha ...

far east of

Istanbul Province Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

on the northern

Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara, also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, is a small inland sea entirely within the borders of Turkey. It links the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating Turkey's E ...

, which took place by late March 2000. The two bridges were closed to vehicle traffic, and opened from midnight to the morning hours to allow a

bulk carrier A bulk carrier or bulker is a merchant ship specially naval architecture, designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo—such as Grain trade, grain, coal, ore, steel coils, and cement—in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrie ...

under construction and the

floating dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

s with lifting capacities of 2,500 and 3,500 tonnes to be transported to their new locations. Today, on the northern shore of the Golden Horn, where the shipyard was located, there are Haliç Shipyard, Kasımpaşa Ferry Terminal,

Northern Sea Area Command Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

of the Turkish Navy, Military Sewing Factory, Camialtı Shipyard and Hasköy Shipyard.

Notable ships built

* , atack submarine, * , LCT, * , LCT, * , LCT, * ,

Bibliography

References

{{coord, 41.03388, N, 28.96092 , E, display=t Turkish Navy shipyards Defence companies of Turkey Shipbuilding companies of Turkey 1450s establishments in the Ottoman Empire 1455 establishments in Europe Transport companies disestablished in 2000 2000 disestablishments in Turkey Defunct shipping companies Economy of Istanbul Military in Istanbul Golden Horn Buildings and structures in Beyoğlu

History

Relocation

Notable ships built

See also

Bibliography

References