The Corner Of The Horn: An Architectural Review Of The Leaded Magazine In Galata İstanbul

This article is a monograph on the celebrated site known as the Leaded Magazine (Kursunlu Mahzen) in Istanbul: the former Fort of Galata of the Byzantine Constantinople and the Subterranean Mosque (Yeralti Cami) of the present-day (1). From a typical early Byzantine defensive structure to a bastion arsenal on the Genoese fortifications, the building functioned as the northern corner of the legendary chain closing off the natural harbour, the Golden Horn. In the Ottoman period, since the site maintained its position as the maritime corner of Galata at the entrance of the port, the edifice was consequently converted to multiple forms and functions: granary, customhouse, imperial kiosk and mosque. Until 1870s the frame of the Byzantine fort had interconnected all these historical layers, however, afterwards that frame was dismantled in parts for the construction of the Offices of Public Health in such a fashion that the totality of the topographical definition became blurred. The mosque founded in the 18th century on the relics of the martyrs from the early Islamic sieges to Constantinople is one of the holiest places in Istanbul; this may partly explain the lack of archaeological work within the site. In such circumstances it is not possible to define with certainty the stratification of the existing traces of the building; however, from Byzantine historians to experts on the Ottoman city, the general tendency for the Leaded Magazine has been to accept the historical continuity of the Byzantine construction through the Ottoman conversions, rather than to suggest complete reconstructions in the successive stages of the site (2). The position of this article is in continuation with this tradition of accepting the Leaded Magazine as a multi-layered structure that can be traced as a continuous space in the original sources. Of the many titles the building had -Fort of THE CORNER OF THE HORN: AN ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW OF THE LEADED MAGAZINE IN GALATA ISTANBUL