Taksim Square – Not because of the civil unrest in May and June 2013 is Taksim Square considering the true centre of Istanbul, but because it has always been a major transportation hub in the heart of the metropolis.
Despite significant redevelopment, Taksim Square remains an important starting point or stop for various bus and tram lines and, until 2009, was also the southern terminus of the Istanbul Metro. Since June 2006, it has also been home to the renovated upper station of an extraordinary funicular railway, the underground Kabataş-Taksim funicular, which provides a rapid connection to the Bosphorus ferries and the tram and bus lines along the Bosphorus shore.
Taksim Square - Bustling with Activity and Henri Gavand
It was in 1867 that the French engineer Henri Gavand, in the then rapidly expanding and cosmopolitan metropolis of Istanbul, identified the need for a fast transport link between the old Pera district and the Golden Horn shore in Karaköy. With the progress being made on the Orient Express's completion at Sirkeci station on the Asian side of Istanbul, a transport connection to the so-called European Quarter had become urgently necessary. To resolve this traffic bottleneck, a number of ideas were considered, ranging from various types of railways to a kind of escalator. After extensive consultations and appeals, which even took him to Sultan Abdülaziz, Henri Gavand received permission from the Sultan on November 6, 1869, to build a tunnel. The plans already envisioned the use of the tram from Taksim Square as an additional means of transport to the Orient Express station; this tram still exists today as a nostalgic service on the Istiklal Caddesi promenade.
Engineer Gavand then began the search for investors for the planned project. Foreign investors once again ensured the start of construction on the 573-meter-long tunnel through the "Metropolitan Railway of Constantinople from Galata to Pera" on July 30, 1871. Construction on the tunnel project was completed as early as December 5, 1874, and the first test runs were undertaken. The ceremonial opening of the Tünel Railway, as the project was now called, took place on January 17, 1875, making it the oldest funicular railway in Europe and the second oldest subway in the world. In a parabolic curve, the railway climbs 61.55 meters and travels a distance of 606.50 meters. It's only a subway in the sense that it runs underground; the drive system is that of a pure funicular railway. In this respect, "Tünel," or Kabataş–Taksim Funicular (F1), is also the shortest subway in the world.
Initially, the railway was powered by a steam engine with an output of approximately 110 kW. The old chimney can still be seen opposite the upper station. The original steam engine is also still present, although no longer operational. The carriages were designed to transport horses and teams of horses. The funicular system was built by the Swiss company Garaventa.
In 1911, the concession to operate the Tünel tramway was transferred to the company Dersaadet Mülhakatindan Galata ve Beyoğlu Beyninde Tahtel' arz Demiryolu. On January 1, 1939, the city government purchased the Tünel operating company and transferred operations to the newly founded İETT (Istanbul Elektrik Tramvay ve Tünel) on June 16, 1939. During World War II, operations had to be suspended for three and a half months due to the unavailability of certain spare parts.
After this period, the Tünel was modernized by the French company Electro Enterprise, and electrification was completed on November 3, 1971. From then on, the electrically powered trams, now with a power output of 257 kW, could transport a maximum of 170 passengers per trip between the two stops, Karaköy and Pera, in 90 seconds, making the way to Taksim Square much quicker. Today, two pneumatic-tired vehicles are in operation, running every two minutes, and every 90 seconds during peak hours. The maximum speed is 30 km/h, and the cruising speed is 25 km/h. The double-track line has been converted to a single-track, two-way line with a passing loop in the middle. The most recent restoration was carried out in 2007, during which the cars were given a modern design.
In the long history of the Tünel funicular, there has been only one accident. On July 6, 1943, a cable snapped, and the car was unable to brake, hurtling down the mountain at high speed. This accident resulted in one fatality and six serious injuries. The Tünel carries approximately 5.4 million passengers annually, covering 37,066 kilometres per year.
To the north of Taksim Square lies Gezi Park. The park and the adjacent Talimhane area, located on both sides of Republic Street, were formerly the site of an artillery barracks belonging to the Ottoman elite Janissary corps. It was damaged during the fighting that took Istanbul to Macedonian troops under the command of the Young Turks on April 24, 1909, and was later sold. The Taksim Stadium (Taksim Stadyumu) was built on the land east of Republic Street, but it was demolished in 1940 to make way for the present-day park. Until 2002, there were controversial plans to build a mosque in the park; these plans were revived in 2012, contributing to the protests.
The neighbouring Talimhane area was developed with commercial buildings and hotels after World War II. From 1551 onwards, the Armenian Pangaltı Cemetery was located here. After its demolition in 1930, the Divan, Hilton, and Hyatt hotels, as well as the TRT building, were constructed. In 1919, on the fourth anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Taksim Genocide Memorial was erected, but it disappeared in 1922 under circumstances that remain unclear. South of the square stands the Marmara Hotel skyscraper. The 26-story, 96-meter-high building was completed in 1969 and has also made headlines in connection with the mass protests. At the eastern end of Taksim Square is the Atatürk Cultural Centre (Atatürk Kültür Merkezi, or AKM). This multi-purpose event centre with several stage hosts, among other things, opera and ballet performances.
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