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Magnificent Images from the Streets and Avenues of Istanbul in the 1950s #eskiistanbul Our content; The zoning works implemented in Istanbul are narrated with images from the 1950s! In February 1957, Menderes said, “The issue of zoning in Istanbul is almost the story of a triumphal procession. We will conquer Istanbul once again.” When the destructive power of modernization and the intention to own the city came together, especially Suriçi was reconstructed as if it were being conquered. Aydın Boysan conveys that Menderes said to those who asked where the money for zoning was found, “These resources were created with brilliant inventions like the egg of Christopher Columbus.” Let’s talk about that egg, in other words, the financial infrastructure of zoning operations. It was obvious that the limited municipal budget would not be enough for zoning operations. Various supplements were made to the budget. The 50 million lira bond issued by the municipality was added and the lands obtained as a result of the zoning operations were mostly sold to state institutions with the special efforts of Menderes, the debt of approximately 490 million lira to state institutions due to the expropriations was cancelled and reinforced, and the expropriation and construction of some roads were covered by the Highways Directorate budget. In addition to these, if we take into account the fact that inflation eroded the expropriation fees that were constantly delayed and the fact that the number of people who could retire until those years was low, and the transfer of the accumulated worker insurance premiums to the zoning, a budget that Istanbul had never seen before was created. With this budget created through unusual means, the zoning could be continued without interruption until the devaluation of August 1958. Although it was not considered very significant in those years, the biggest operation Menderes carried out in the new parts of the city was the opening of Barbaros Boulevard connecting Beşiktaş to Zincirlikuyu and continuing this road with Büyükdere Street and descending it from above to İstinye, Tarabya and Büyükdere. This spine, passing through the ridge, gave a clear direction to the subsequent development of Istanbul: not only were the isolated villages north of the Bosphorus integrated, but also the slopes of the road facing the Bosphorus, starting from Levent and Etiler, were transformed into upper-middle-class residential areas. Image restoration, colorization: Akif Tanrıkulu