Tünel, Istanbul

When Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror captured Byzantium in 1453 the Ottoman Empire and its throne, known as the Sublime Porte, became heirs not only to the Byzantine and Eastern Roman Empire, but also a rich Greco-Latin and Judeo-Christian culture in Anatolia and in the tradition of that Empire different religious communities lived side by side, granted in return for their loyalty – rights and privileges going beyond the Koranic requirements to treat the other “Peoples of the Book” (Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians) with special tolerance.



Today on the European side of Istanbul across the Golden Horn lies the district traditionally the home of foreigners in Constantinople / Istanbul known to the Byzantines as Galata and today as the district of Istanbul known as Beyoğlu. Its narrow streets rising to the Galata tower at its crest have resounded to the conversation and trade of Venetians, Genoans, Jews, Arabs, Greeks, Armenians and many more of the myriad peoples who have converged in this unique city which straddles the seaway between Europe and Asia which the Hittite and Greek myths named after the mythical crossing of giant bulls from one continent to another, The Bosporus.


Genoese houses from the 1300's in Galata

This district was not subject to the Great Siege and conquest of Constantinople by Mehmet for it was at the time a separate Genoese trading colony and officially stayed neutral in the Titanic struggle of 1453 which saw the end of the Roman Empire, the ascent of Islam, the ending of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance in Europe fuelled by the Greek scholars who fled the conquered city.


Eugène-Henri Gavand's original design

Today it is a happening, hip and edgy district with a throbbing music scene and is named after the unique transport system which climbs underground from near the water’s edge to the near the Galata Tower on the hill – it is known simply as Tünel.


Sultanahmet from the Galata Tower

The Tünel (and the nostalgic tramway) between them form both a fascinating part of transport history. The Tünel’s place in the metro transport history is secure as it is actually the third oldest underground railway in the world and the second in continental Europe. It was built by French engineers modelled on the ' Ficelle' of Lyon, a similar underground funicular railway which operated from 1862 to 1967 when part of its tunnels were incorporated into the new Lyon Metro. In both cities the design challenge was the same – how do you build a funicular to ascend a hill in a densely built up area – Answer; build it underground. The ' Ficelle' (literally the string, after the traction cable the carriages hooked onto) was also the first underground railway in the world opening in June 1862 thereby predating the London Underground which opened in 1863. So it follows the Tünel dating from 1875 is the oldest extant underground in Continental Europe and the second oldest extant underground in the world. However a funicular is not a metro and the first full subway line with multiple underground stations in continental Europe was Line 1 of the Budapest Metro (1896).


Map of Galata

The Tünel (English: Tunnel) is a short underground railway line in Istanbul, Turkey. It is an underground funicular with two stations, connecting the quarters of Karaköy and Beyoğlu. Located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn, the underground railway tunnel goes uphill from close to sea level and is about 555 meters long and was inaugurated on January 17, 1875. The Tünel was originally conceived by the French engineer Eugène-Henri Gavand in 1867. Its purpose was to provide an easy ride between the neighbourhoods of Pera (Beyoğlu) and Galata (Karaköy), both of which were in the relatively newer part of Istanbul, on the northern shore of the Golden Horn. Many people used to work in Galata close to sea level, and live uphill in Pera, about 60 metres higher. The only direct street connecting the two, Yüksek Kaldırım, is steep and narrow; at the time of the construction of the Tünel, it was crowded with 40,000 pedestrians a day. Gavand conceived of the Tünel as "a kind of elevator ascending and descending" that would greatly ease the journey.



Two years later, on November 6, 1869, Gavand received permission from the Ottoman sultan Abdülaziz to start the project with a forty-two year concession to operate it. After finding foreign funding, Gavand established a company called the Metropolitan Railway of Constantinople to carry out the project. Construction began on July 30, 1871 but was delayed significantly by conflicts between landowners and the company. The tunnel was not completed until December 1874 and was finally opened for service on January 17, 1875.



The Metropolitan Railway Company gained a fresh 75-year concession in 1904 but the Tünel was nationalised in 1923 when the Turkish Republic was proclaimed. In 1939 it was absorbed into the new IETT (İstanbul Elektrik Tramvay ve Tünel) transportation organization. It was modernised and electrified in 1971. The two parallel tracks were replaced by a single track with central siding. But what characterizes more this new funicular it is that it rolls on tires! Today, the short line is no longer as vital for Istanbul's inner city traffic as it used to be back in the 19th century, but it is still a part of the municipal transport network and integrated tickets are valid.


Istanbul Metro system incorporating the Tünel


Nostalgic Tramway

Tünel Square, at the south-western end of Istiklal Caddesi (Independence Avenue) in Beyoğlu, Istanbul, is the upper terminus of Istanbul's little old 19th-century, two-station underground train system, the Tünel l. The "square" is really just a widening of the street. It’s a busy place because of people going to and from the Tünel, getting on and off the nostalgic tramway seeking out the many cafes, restaurants and shops that crowd the historic Tünel Pasaji (opposite the Tünel entrance) and that line the narrow side streets northwest of the square, especially Sofyali Sokak and Asmalimescit Sokak.Some traditional forms of transport are included in Istanbul’s public transport network. In 1990, a historic tram was put in service along Istiklal Avenue between Taksim and Tunel which is 1.6km long. The tram ambles along the main pedestrian street ringing its bell to disperse the crowds of people in its path. And in 2003, another nostalgic tramline was reopened on the Asian side of Istanbul between Kadikoy and Moda. It has 10 stations on a 2.6 km long route. The trip takes 21 minutes.


Karaköy Station

The cars are used today are old cars of MP 55 trains of the subway on tires of the RATP in Paris equipped with tires but also with traditional wheels which can roll on the rails. The wooden carriages were replaced in 1971 with two electrified steel cars running on pneumatic tires. Their cruising speed is roughly 25 km/h. A trip between the two stations takes about 1.5 minutes, with an extra two minutes of waiting between operations to allow passengers to board the train.


The Engine Room

Tünel has always been special for Istanbul and Beyoğlu lovers. It’s difficult to say if this popularity comes from being the world’s second oldest metro or from being the heritage from the 19 century’s Pera era. No matter today Tünel is one of the symbols of Istanbul and this 571 meter long railway station has been tying up Karaköy to Pera since 1875. When it opened Pera was one of most prestigious residential areas and Galata was the popular trade centre of Istanbul. Businessmen living in Pera had to walk everyday to Galata Karaköy. The distance from Karaköy to Pera is not much, but the road is a tough hill. Tünel l is also used by tourists who would like walk to the Sultanahmet area. Then the station on Istiklal Street is also the starting point of the street tram for Istiklal heading to Taxim Square.


Beyoğlu (Pera) Station

Tünel has given its name to the neighbourhood as well. This area is still one of the most Bohemian quarters in Istanbul. It has its own character with a mix of everything. Maybe that’s why this little quarter is loved by locals and tourists. It offers all kind of shops: bookshops next to a doner kebab kiosk or elegantly decorated restaurants next to the cheapest passages, Terkos Passage and Beyoğlu.



Tünel Quarter is also visited frequently by those interested in music. The street, Galip Dede, going down to Galata Tower from Tünel is filled with shops selling musical instruments and other stuff.


The "Nostalgic Tramway" outside Beyoğlu (Pera) Station

It would be unfair not to mention Galata Tower, while talking about Tünel. This 12th Century 77 m high Genoese watch tower is one of Istanbul’s key landmarks. From the top you can see the Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia for a thousand years the greatest church in Christendom, Leander’s Tower and the Bosporus connecting Europe and Asia and the Golden Horn at the same time. Galat Mevlevihanesi, located just at the Tünel Square in Divan Edebiyati Museum, is considered as one of the most interesting attractions. The Mehlevi are the Sufi sect commonly known as The Whirling Dervishes. Sufi literally means “wool” from the coarse cloth worn by the followers of this Sunni Muslim tradition who seek to be at one with the divine by abandoning worldly distraction and entering into a trance like ecstasy. The Ceremony can be visited on every Sunday starting at 17:00 by paying about 25 YTL fee.


Nightclub in Tünel

Another charming area of Tünel district is the Asmalimescit. In the streets of Asmali you may find plenty of alternatives for dining. Even in winter people do not mind sitting in the narrow streets and having their lunches in those cosy streets. To mention a few of the good cafes around; The House Café and Peradox serve fine international cuisine. The House Cafe’s freshly made lemonades and ice teas are worth a try. Just opposite of the House Café there is the Helvetia cafe, serving delicious examples of home plates of Turkish cuisine. Asmalimescits’ oldest and best known restaurant and pub (meyhane) is Refik.


Galata Tower

The French street in Galatasaray is an adorable place with charming cafés where you can take pictures with colourful backgrounds. The Tünel, with its grey dirty buildings, has more character. It is just like Istanbul; you have to get in if you really want to taste it. It is somewhat amazing that this interesting bohemian area which celebrates the best of Ottoman cafe society and its music should still be held together by this absolutely unique underground railway which is in fine order and will this year be celebrating its 136th birthday. Istanbul today has an official population of 11 million but the real figure is probably considerably higher. Its transport infrastructure is creaking at the seams and one of the reasons for this is best described as “The Revenge of the Byzantines!” Both the metro extensions and the Bosporus Tunnel have been greatly delayed as every time you dig down in this city you find an archaeological site. Because of the huge pressure of immigration from the Anatolian Plateau into Istanbul the city today is mainly Turkic and not as diverse as it was in the past. However in Tünel you can find both a sense of old Istanbul and a unique working piece of transport history.


Station tiles

I’m very grateful to Can Dogan, a native son of Istanbul whose family home is in the area for the heads up and background on the Tünel.

Can Dogan | Partner | Pride & Privilege I.T. Consulting | www.prideprivilege.com

For more on the Fall of Byzantium see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/04/fall-of-byzantium.html

For more on the World’s oldest Metro see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/01/great-circle-line-journey.html

The Lady Miranda

MV Miranda Guinness

Being a Dubliner you grew up with Guinness, in fact you spent your youth inhaling it. Crossing over O’Connell Bridge in the city centre you inhaled the scent of roasted barley from the huge St. James’s Gate Brewery upstream on the River Liffey. It is the roasting of barley which makes gives Guinness its dark colour and the bitter aftertaste. Guinness is a popular dry stout beer that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness (1725–1803) at St. James's Gate, Dublin. It is based on the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century and is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide. Guinness was all pervasive in Dublin even after in the 1930’s it changed its legal domicile to London to list on the Stock Exchange.


St. James’s Gate Brewery, Dublin


Uncle Arthur


"A pint of plain is yer only man!"

Despite this we Dubliner’s still looked upon it as Irish as the St James’s Gate Brewery continued to be a major part of Dublin life. Many worked in the brewery but it was only in the 1960’s that management roles were opened up to Catholics. The Brewery had its own narrow gauge railway, its own power station and its own branch and basin on the Grand Canal and barges carrying Guinness barrels were a familiar site on Ireland’s inland waterways. Barges also went on the River Liffey through the centre of Dublin until the early 60’s and a fleet of three tanker ships carried the “black stuff” over the seas to England. They were named after female members of the Guinness family, The Lady Gwendolyn, The Lady Patricia and the MV. Miranda Guinness. Unfortunately the fleet was disbanded in 1993 and with it went part of the colour of Dublin City.


The MV Miranda Guinness making her last sailing from Dublin, October 1992


A Guinness barge on the River Liffey

Now Dublin has lost one of its last tangible connections with the Guinness family with the death on the 30th December 2010 of the person one of the ships was named after, Miranda Guinness, Countess of Iveagh. She was married to Benjamin Guinness, who died in 1992, and who was the last family member to be chairman of the company. Towards the end of his life Benjamin was prone to depression and at times drink took hold and I’m not too sure how much he was in touch at times. His Chairmanship coincided with the Guinness Scandal. This involved an attempt to manipulate the stock market on a massive scale to inflate the price of Guinness shares and thereby assist a £2.7 billion take-over bid for the larger Scottish drinks company Distillers. At the height of this scandal a letter appeared in the Irish Times from Ben Guinness asking if anybody had information on a church window in Castleknock (near to his Dublin home) where it was said a candle could stay lit in a gale!


Farmleigh

Farmleigh, the Earl of Iveagh’s family home in the Phoenix Park, which now belongs to the Irish State, is a vast country mansion on the edge of the city. The government bought the house and grounds in 1999 from the Guinness family, as a state guesthouse fit for the lodging of plenipotentiaries, premiers, presidents and princes. A landmark clock tower rises to some thirty-seven metres in height. The tower contains an 8,183-litre water tank. A weir was constructed on the Liffey at Strawberry Beds and a mile-long millrace channelled water to turn a turbine, which pumped water to the tower and generated electricity for the house. The lines were taken across the Liffey on an iron bridge specially erected for the task.


Miranda & Benjamin Guinness on their wedding day




Miranda Guinness at 23 and at 70

The third Earl of Iveagh, Benjamin Guinness, died of cancer in 1992. He was only 55 years of age, and held a unique distinction of having been a member of the Oireachtas, appointed a Senator by Liam Cosgrave, and a member of the House of Lords in Britain. Miranda and Benjamin married in 1963, he was 26 and she was 23, a golden couple to all intents and purposes, with the world at their feet. The Guinness family, however, throughout their different branches, have suffered a lot of tragedies. Indeed, Ben Guinness's father was killed by a V2 rocket in 1944 while on active service in Belgium when Ben was just seven years old. He inherited the title of 3rd Earl of Iveagh on the death of his grandfather in 1967. Miranda and Benjamin had four children: Edward, now 4th Earl of Iveagh; the Hon Rory Guinness; Lady Emma Guinness Barnard; and Lady Louisa Guinness Ulroth. Miranda and Benjamin divorced in 1984 but remained on good terms; in fact he died in Kensington having returned to her house in London when he became ill.


Miranda's red De Lorean

Miranda was a sensationally beautiful woman with a string of lovers to her bow including a duke, a marquis, an airline tycoon, a racing driver, and a well-known Irish TV personality. She was well known and had close connections in Ireland. Members of Dublin's most famous brewing dynasty turned out in the capital just last August to celebrate Lady Miranda's 70th birthday, when she was already ill. Speaking on that occasion, Lady Miranda said: “I have to admit, it’s been a privilege to be part of this family. I’m very much at home in Dublin.” Fittingly the birthday party was held in the Guinness Hop Store in St. James’s Gate Brewery.


Desmond Guinness in front of Leixlip Castle in the 1970's

The family still have roots and connections in Ireland. Desmond Guinness, who lives in the wonderful Leixlip Castle outside Dublin, is the founder of the Irish Georgian Society and a bulwark against the philistinism in the 60’s and 70’s which tried to destroy Ireland’s Georgian Heritage. Indeed he bought Ireland’s greatest Palladian Mansion, Castletown House at Celbridge, which incredibly was about to be demolished by a builder who (wait for it!) was about to build an estate of mock Georgian semis on the site. Some were built to the left of the entrance gate to serve as a warning of the horrors crass builders and gombeen developers have visited on the Fair Isle. I confess to a small stake in Castletown house for as a 17 year old volunteer I helped mix concrete for the basement floor. One of the other helper’s was Des’s son Patrick who through his mother Mariga is a claimant to the thrones of Lithuania, Monaco and the Kingdom of Jerusalem! He is also the father of the model Jasmine Guinness and more mundanely has followed his father as Sotheby’s representative in Ireland. At the end of the day in Castletown’s (then) dank basement we were both equally covered in grey cement dust.


Castletown, Celbridge, Co. Kildare

I bumped into the family vicariously again in the unlikely setting of Al Hamra, the Red City of Marrakech, Morocco. Our guide around the Medina, the walled city, was called Feta, (call me Feta, same as the cheese!) who was very knowledgeable about the area, history and culture and a really interesting personality. I would certainly recommend a guide the first time you go through the Souks and to give you the background to the city and culture. Feta mentioned that he had previously brought this Irish guy called "Ivy" around and he kept sending him his friends who needed a Marrakech guide and he was coming there in 2007 for a family celebration. When he showed me the number, in his mobile, the penny dropped that it was Edward Guinness, The Earl of Iveagh! Feta I hasten to add is a good Muslim and not a Guinness drinker as to believers (Sura 37:47) it is haram or forbidden even though the word “alcohol” comes from the Arabic, al-kuḥl!


Feta, who knew "Ivy"

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/10/marrakech-red-city-on-budget.html

Edward Guinness, the 4th Earl of Iveagh, lives on Britain’s largest arable estate at Elveden in Suffolk though he doesn't live in the 70-bedroom Elveden Hall but in a more modest house next door, along with his wife, Clare, and two young sons, the eldest of whom, like all first-born Guinness-family males, was named Arthur. Over the past decade Lord Iveagh has helped turn the 22,486-acre estate into the largest working farm in Britain, concentrating on root vegetables but with plenty of ancillary projects, including, fittingly, a micro-brewery in the potting shed, which produces his own Elveden Stout - strangely he can't label it with the family name!



The Guinness family bought Elveden from the family of Prince Duleep Singh the last Sikh ruler of the Punjab, the land of the five rivers and the bread basket of India. The Maharajah, who was exiled from India, bought the house in 1863 and commissioned John Norton to redesign it in the style of Indian palaces such as those at Lahore or Delhi. After the annexation of the Punjab to British territories, the young 16 year old Duleep Singh was bought to England in 1854. Duleep Singh was a noted sportsman and crack shot and handed over the Koh-I-Noor diamond to Queen Victoria. Maharaja Duleep Singh was the son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh who was known as the Lion of The Punjab and he succeeded his father aged five. Queen Victoria showered affection upon the turbaned Maharajah, as did the Prince Consort, and he was granted an enormous income of £50,000 pounds a year. The unlikely of alliances saw the start of a relationship of love, loyalty and later hostility. The Maharajah was looked upon as an adopted son of Her Majesty, encouraged mingling with the Royal household, playing with the younger Princes and holiday with them at Osborne House.


Maharaja Duleep Singh



Statue of Maharaja Duleep Singh in Thetford

However he was still an exile deported to Britain and after being bought to England, Duleep Singh was forced to leave his faith, his Empire, the Golden Throne, the Kohinoor Diamond and to be a spectator to the events that led to the fall of the Sarkar-e-Khalsa (The Sikh Raj). Duleep Singh died in Paris in 1893 but his body was brought back to Elveden and he is buried in the churchyard in a Christian ceremony. He was the first Sikh to settle in Britain and today many Sikhs make a pilgrimage to Elveden or to visit his statue in nearby Thetford, so expect to hear the dulcet tones of Wolverhampton in Suffolk!


Elveden Hall


Grave of Prince Duleep Singh - the last Maharajah of Punjab

There is more evidence of the omnipresence of the Guinness family in an exotic Indian connection and a connection to the Beatle’s famous song “A Day in the Life”, the first tract on their ground breaking “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.” The first verse was written about the death of Tara Browne, the 21-year-old heir to the Guinness fortune and close friend of Lennon and McCartney, who had crashed his Lotus Élan on 18 December 1966 when he apparently went through a red light at high speed (possibly drunk or using drugs) and hit a truck in his path in Redcliffe Gardens, Earls Court.

Tara was the younger brother of Garech Browne (An t’Onoarch Garech de Brún) who has done much for Irish Music with his Claddagh Records label which he founded. Garech was instantly recognisable around Dublin by his famous pony-tail, wispy beard, tweed suit and dapper appearance and his wonderful old Bentley parked on the pavement outside Peter’s Pub in South William Street.


Garech Browne


Luggala, Co. Wicklow

He would disappear every winter and in the spring invariably arrive “in town” with a new eastern beauty on his arm. He was married in 1981 to the Princess Purna of Morvi, daughter of His Highness Sri Mahendra Sinhji (of the Jadeja dynasty and the last Maharaja of Morvi) in India, where he spends part of each year. His former house, Woodtown Manor, near Dublin was for many years a welcoming place for Irish poets, writers and musicians and which was associated with the folk-pop group Clannad, where they made many recordings of their music. When in Ireland, he lives at Luggala set deep in the Wicklow Mountains. The house has been variously described as a castle or hunting lodge of large proportions which he inherited from his mother. It is a wonderful gingerbread gothic building and has a wonderful private setting on its own lake, Lough Tay. Garech has put white sand around his black lake so that it resembles a glass of Guinness! Tara Browne is buried in the grounds.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/08/day-in-life-of-abbey-road.html


Iveagh House, Dublin

So with the passing of Miranda Iveagh a real and tangible connection of the Guinness family to Dublin and Ireland has been lost. In better times when Guinness was Irish, the Guinness family amply reciprocated the generosity of Dubliners contributing to Irish institutions and culture and to public welfare through the Iveagh Trust, now the Guinness Trust. In Dublin’s South City Centre you can find many examples of the family’s munificence including Dublin’s best known and finest Victorian public park, St Stephen’s Green, and overlooking it are two fine Georgian Mansions both donated by the Guinness family. One is the world renowned College of Surgeon’s (RCSI) and the other Iveagh House is a splendid urban palazzo housing the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs, Iveagh House. Behind Iveagh House is another gift from the family, a “secret garden” the Iveagh Gardens.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/07/tale-of-two-parks.html

The Fair City has undoubtedly given much to the descendants of Arthur Guinness whose St James Gate Brewery gives a distinctive waft of roasted barley to the banks of the River Liffey. Due to the machinations of Ernest Saunders (the only person to be cured from irreversible senile dementia!) in the “Guinness Scandal” in the 1980’s the family connection with the firm is largely a thing of the past and the company has developed into a multi-national alcohol conglomerate named Diageo. However, with his well known Gift of Prophecy, the Celtic Sage foresees a future campaign to repatriate this part of our National Patrimony to Ireland! So let us start the campaign to return Guinness to its roots, to the only place where it makes sense, let’s truly bring home the Guinness!

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