Galata Harbor in the 19th century: The change and transformation of the coastal region

The port in the Galata district, which is the coast to the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus, has been one of the main ports of Istanbul from the time of the Byzantine Empire until the middle of the 20th century. Galata's close relationship with the sea and trade throughout the history, formed cultural patterns, spatial identities and cosmopolitan residents of the Istanbul and served as creating the both visual and functional image of the city. The first breaking point that caused the change and transformation of the port of Galata in the Ottoman times was the construction of the Imperial Arsenal in the 15th century along the Golden Horn shores of Galata. With the transfer of the navy to region, the port is functionally divided into two as military and commercial parts. Trading part of the port got limited to the area between Karakoy Gate and Tophane region, known as the docks of Galata. In the 18th century, the increasing trade volume with the technological developments in the western world has also affected Galata, one of the port areas of Istanbul. It was realized that the Galata dock had to be modernized from the beginning of the 19th century due to the developments experienced in the 18th century; it was possible to build a new dock and dock structures at the end of the 19th century, although some initiatives were started in 1839 concerning this. During the 19th century, a significant increase in commercial activities in the harbor in relation to the industrialization caused multiple breaking points affecting the social and spatial aspects of the city. With the 1838 Treaty of Commerce signed between the United Kingdom and Ottoman Empire, the empire became an open market and capitulations given to the foreign states increased. Also, during the Crimean War (1853-1856), the population of the city and the intensity of the harbor increased rapidly. The necessity of modernized docks became urgent after the Crimean War of 1853. Due to the increasing trade volume and population, new spatial and social needs of the coastal area and the port has emerged. Accomodation needs for traders, contemporary docks where goods need to be loaded, downloaded and stored, proper transportation needs between the harbor and the city resulted with implementation of several urban arrangements and the construction of Galata port.