The conservation proposal of the Metamorphosis Monastery' s Church and its environment

Having been known since ancient times and used as a place of exile in the Byzantine period, often referred to as "The princes' islands", the third largest island of Prince Islands, Burgazada, is one of the four largest islands of the group of islands located in the southeast of Istanbul. According to its location, Heybeliada is located in the east of Burgazada, Kınalıada in the west, and Kaşıkada is located in a short distance from Burgazada in the north. Throughout history, it has hosted primarily Christians and then Turks and other minority groups. As a result of exchange and asset taxation in the 20th century, as minorities began to leave the island, there started a negative period for the island. Burgazada is a district connected to Büyükada District Municipality. The settlement on the island is located in the northern and eastern parts, while the other parts are the forest areas. Transportation from Istanbul to the islands and among the islands nearby is provided by boats and ferry boats. Within the scope of the thesis, Metamorphosis Monastery Church structured in Burgazada in 20 plots, 76 blocks 1 parcel and Christos Church built in the 20th century on the remains of this structure are examined. Reflecting the construction technique and architectural features of the Byzantine period, the remains of this structure have survived to the present day by maintaining its originality. In the context of this study, the historical process of the building group was investigated, its architectural characteristics were examined, materials and period analysis and damage analysis were prepared in line with the analysis of mortar and plaster samples taken from the building. In line with the data obtained as a result of the researches and similar structures in terms of plan scheme, facade layout and construction techniques, the proposal for restitution has been established. Appropriate recommendations have been developed for the construction group to be treated as a whole and to maintain the existence of both structures together with its environment and to be transferred to future generations. While the proposals has been being prepared, the area is considered to be the First Degree Natural Site Area and having been characterized as an archeological site has been taken into consideration. The existence of the Metamorphosis Monastery Church dates back to the 11th century and the beginning of the 12th century. This structure, which reflects the Byzantine period, has a very unique characteristics and several different new structures have been added, while various interventions have been made to the church. The ownership of the building, which was officially registered in 1973, once belonged to the Greek Patriarchate of Fener, but since 21st of May, 1975, it has been owned by General Directorate of Foundations. The thesis study consists of six main sections. The introductory section is the section explaining the reasons for the selection of the topic of thesis study, the method used in the study and the scope of the study. During the documentation study, measurements were made with "Total Station", and in the phases where the measurement was not available, traditional measurement methods were applied and documentation was completed by combining both data. The layout of the building is shown together with its surroundings, and the sections and views containing both buildings are drawn. In the second part, the historical development of Burgazada, the place where the structure mentioned before is located, its geographical position and transportation opportunities and examples of monumental and civil architecture are briefly mentioned. In the third part of the work, the architectural features of the church remains of the Metamorphosis Monastery Church and the Christos Church in the building group are described in detail separately. There are three rooms belonging to both buildings. Metamorphosis Monastery Church consists of 101 narthexes, 102 naoses (entrance), 103 diaconicons; Christos Church consists of 104 naoses, 105 bemas and 106 warehouse places. There is no upper cover of the places belonging to the Monastery Church. The Narthex section is now united with the church courtyard and an unqualified rubble stone wall is built on its original walls. The area nu. 102 is the entrance of the Church of Christos and is located on the lower level. The plansheet of the diaconicon nu. 103 can be read, but the plaster in it has fallen off in large quantities and the walls and facades are plastered with cement-based mortar. The hidden brick technique is observed in the wall block of the Metamorphosis Monastery Church, which forms the northwestern part of area 102. Detailed drawings of this construction technique have been prepared. The church of Christos has a rectangular plan scheme and 104 naos and 105 bema venues are separated by iconostasis. The upper cover is a barrel vault and ends with a crisscross roof in two directions. The warehouse section 106 was formed by closing the gap between the wall block and the Church of Christos. All internal and external surfaces of the present church are plastered with cement based material. In this section, the materials and construction techniques used in the construction and the deterioration that took place over time are also discussed. In addition, the architectural pieces found around the building group are classified as column headings, columns and decorative smaller-sized columns, cornices, lintels and jambs as well as documentation process and the catalog work were prepared for each piece. Pieces that haven't been identified and those that are excluded from the species transferred, are mentioned under the heading of 'other pieces'. In the fourth section, which describes the restitution process, restitution proposals have been prepared by analyzing the structural data with historical written and visual sources, comparison with similar structures, identifying problems related to restitution. It is a column heading that remains from this period to the present day. A period analysis for restitution was made, and four construction and one repair processes of the structure were determined. The first period is the period of the temple. In the second quarter, in the 11th-12th century, the Metamorphosis Monastery Church was built on this structure. Structural remains and architectural fragments of this period have been observed. The third period is the period when a new church was built on the naos site of the Byzantine church, which was destroyed in 1868. The buttress seen in the west of today's Church dates back to this period. The fourth period is the process of building the present Christos Church in the beginning of the 20th century in the same place as the old Monastery, following the destruction of this church by the great earthquake of 1894. The fifth repair process emerges as the process in which the window joineries of the Christos Church were changed, cement-based materials were used, and the warehouse space was added. When the periods were examined, the restitution proposal for the second and fourth rotation, which were two basic periods, was established in this process. In the fifth section, the protection and repair phase, the solution proposals for the needs and problems observed in the field following the methods and interventions that has been applied against structural degradation and unqualified interventions are presented. It is suggested that drilling pits should be opened at the determined points before any intervention to the area is applied and documentation and determination work should be done by experts. In the intervention process, it was aimed to create a more comfortable environment for the visitors by giving new functions to the existing guard house, which were freed from unattended additions to the area and structures. Prior to the implementation of the functions recommended for the guard house, detailed documentation of this structure and necessary elimination processes of the unqualified additions should be done and the repairs should be completed with the methods recommended by the experts. An area has been identified for the display of categorized architectural pieces in the vicinity. Proposals have been made to control the uncontrolled entrances and exits in the current situation. In the sixth conclusion section of the study, the data obtained from the study are presented and it is aimed to preserve the historical identity and transfer it to the future generations by protecting the area by respecting to the past as stated in the previous research and studies conducted.