Acquisitions and Concessions in Preserving Cultural Heritage: The Hagia Sophia Roxelana Bathhouse

Kültürel Mirasın Korunmasındaki Kazanımlar ve Ödünler: Ayasofya Hürrem Sultan Hamamı

Abstract

: Bathhouses are structures where washing is carried from the waterfront into an area and should be regarded as a cultural heritage piece, where social values may be pursued beyond the physical and structural qualities of a building. This article tackles the social life rules, material, and spiritual-cultural values of the Hagia Sophia Roxelana Bathhouse, which has not been the subject of an independent study regarding the cultural values of its interiors, after the restoration work that started in 2009 and has been completed in three years. The aim is to record the information regarding the dimensional, construction, and space organization of the interior design of the bathhouses as a rare example among Turkish Bathhouses, to transfer its material and spiritual cultural values to the future with accuracy, and to form its proper place in the changing world order. On this basis, the content of the study has been determined as the studies that were carried out in the reconstruction process and the arrangement of functions of cultural sustainability during the restoration of Hagia Sophia Roxelana Bathhouse, which has been chosen as the experimental area for the article. Consequently, while revealing the necessity of making concessions to maintain the cultural continuity in cases such as the example of this historical building, a critical situation has been presented by drawing attention to the result of the decisions taken, particularly for these types of structures included in the tourism sector.