Haydarpaşa Train Station will actually become more beautiful
Haydarpaşa Train Station in Istanbul is one of the most significant places in my life. It has been one of the most beautiful symbols of Istanbul since those days when passengers had to take rowboats from the Kadıköy Pier to the train station across the cove.
In the years that have passed by, as Istanbul became a giant in every sense, Haydarpaşa and its vicinity unfortunately got worse at the same time. An ugly, loud site developed right next to the station, in which colossal cranes operate and Ro-Ro ships embark and load containers.
The train station has also lost its former functionality. I would like to ask you: Have you once visited that entire area? No, you cannot, because it is impossible to enter or wander around. Yet it is the best scenic place in Istanbul.
Now a project has been revealed that includes the train station. The whole zone will be transformed into an area of hotels, tourist attractions, museums, accommodation facilities, cultural venues and parks.
We immediately responded by saying “No.” Campaigns started: “We will not allow that place to be transformed. The historic building should stay as it is. Istanbul’s silhouette should not be destroyed.”
I’m sorry, but I cannot accept the attitude of objecting to any new idea, any new innovation. I cannot understand saying “No” when there is not even a certain project.
Haydarpaşa’s exterior will be preserved. The interior of it, though, will partly be transformed into a museum and partly transformed into a luxury hotel, restaurant and an entertainment venue. What harm can this have? Do you want glittering parks, museums, hotels and cultural centers? Or do you want a dirty and a noisy port where nobody goes like today?
Just as the world is changing, Istanbul is also changing. At least let’s try to make it change in the best way.
[HH] Not by force
Former Education Minister Hüseyin Çelik is correct when he says, “No good can be achieved by force.”
The absurdity of the law to protect Atatürk has been written about and commented on for years, but nobody has been able to act on it. If people love and revere Atatürk without taking oaths, without May 19 shows, then he will be elevated and live for eternity.
The same goes for religiousness. Maybe there are no laws protecting Prophet Muhammad, but there exists such an environment of neighborhood and family that anyone who says a different word is immediately excommunicated.
What is important is to not force people by law or by moral pressure to love some things. Let people live as they wish to live. Let them believe in whatever they want to believe, criticize whatever they dislike.
Let’s not repeat old mistakes by changing the name of the ideology.
[HH] Women buying more condominiums
I had dinner with the owner of Yalçıntepe Group, Mehmet Yalçıntepe, the other day. He has an amazing life story and very interesting observations. I listened to one of them with astonishment.
Who do you think is buying the low-priced small apartments (Don’t forget that these units are one bedroom and are generally purchased as an investment)?
Yalçıntepe said, “It is mostly young women who buy these units.” Their motive is very logical. “Unmarried ones see this as a guarantee in their marriage. It is an effort to have a place of their own if the marriage is broken. Or they buy it as an investment, so that if they get married, they can rent it out and contribute to the family budget.”
This was unheard of before. This shows how fast society is changing. It used to be the men from whom everything was expected in a marriage. Now, every member of the family takes responsibility and risk. This is right.
