CIPA 2003 XIX th International Symposium, 30 September - 04 October, 2003, Antalya, Turkey 
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Figure 6. The Bosphorus Bridge. 
3.6 Land use 
The primary land use in the Bosphorus was housing. The 
inhabitants of the traditional villages of the Bosphorus had 
mostly settled on the bay and the inner parts of the valleys 
leaving the shore to the waterfront residences and palaces. 
Today, the districts of the Bosphorus on the south (near the city 
centre) are densely populated with every kind of urban land use, 
whereas the population density decreases to the north and these 
districts are mostly used for recreation and tourism. 
The industry in the Bosphorus area is limited and it is located to 
the north of the strait and there are numerous historical 
buildings all over the area open to public as museums. 
3.7 Architecture 
Apart from the general characteristics of traditional Turkish 
house the specific characteristics of the Bosphorus affected the 
architecture of the buildings on the strait. The primary factor 
affecting the design was the view (Bosphorus), and the houses 
were designed to benefit the most of it. The second important 
factor was the sun. 
As the general formation of the strait is on north-south axis, the 
houses on the European side get the morning sun whereas those 
on the Asian side get the afternoon sun. This is refleted on their 
facades (the latter have shutters to protect them from this 
negative factor). As the houses were almost built on the sea the 
principle rooms were on the upper floors and the material used 
for the construction was wood instead of masonry to get enough 
protection from damp. But the late examples represent western 
styles such as Art Nouveau, Neoclassical, Baroque or Rococo 
and all were masonry buildings belonging to foreign consulates 
or the palace members or the emperor (sultan) himself. The 
colours used in their facades were mainly pale colours 
(primarily white) to contrast with the green vegetation 
surrounding them (Tunbi?, 1995, p.l 12). 
It is sad to state that the most of the waterfront houses of the 
19 lh century doesn’t exist now and those that could be preserved 
stand like stangers among their new neighbours most of which 
do not even bear a sign of the ones they have replaced. 
Figure 7. Amcazade Huseyin Pasa Yalisi , one of the oldest 
waterfront buildings in Istanbul (date: 1699). 
Figure 8.Waterfront buildings from 19 th century. 
Figure 9. Contemporary waterfront buildings. 
4. BOSPHORUS IN LEGAL BOUNDRIES 
The building activities that had began in 1956-59 with the 
construction of new roads and roads widening in the historical 
peninsula and the whole city have made the Bosphorus area a 
suitable place for settlements and caused the city to further 
enlarge to the north via Bosphorus. 
With the “Beyoglu Arrangemenet Plan” in 1954 the aearas 
between Mecidiyekoy and Levent (district not on the shore but 
adjacenet to those on the shore) were assigned for industrial 
use, and with “Istanbul Industrial Plan” in 1955 istinye, 
Pasabahce, Beykoz (distircts on the shore) were shown among 
the areas for indusrty. 
In 1966 the “Istanbul Industrial Areas Plan” excluded Istinye 
from the areas destined to be used for industry, but included 
Levent and the areas surrounding it instead. In 1969 Istinye was 
again announced as an industrial area (Aslan, 1989:62). 
The shanty towns that have developed in Bosphorus in those 
years are merely the product of these false planning decisions. 
The first attempt to preserve the Bosphorus from extensive 
development was the “Bosphorus Shoreline Preservation Plan” 
in 1971, and with the “Old Buildings Act” in 1973 all the 
building procedures in Bosphorus began to directed by the 
“Council of Old Buildings and Monuments”. The “Ministry of 
Culture” announced the Bosphorus as a natural and cultural 
heritage site and the “Arrangement Plan” prepared for