Istanbul is the blessed place where our Beloved Prophet (PBUH) gave the good news that it will be conquered by Muslims. My Almighty Lord created this land with exceptional beauties, especially the Bosphorus, and gave it to the trustee of the Muslims in 1453.
The date of my arrival in this beautiful city is 1975… I lived in this city for 33 years until 2008. There is a strict relationship among us. I completed my university education, I started working as a journalist, I study hard in libraries, my children were born in this city, I wrote the book ‘Istanbul… Istanbul’. In short, we have a deep bond of love with Istanbul. Even after I moved to Gaziantep, I couldn't leave Istanbul.
Something has happened to Istanbul recently. Skyscrapers distorted the historical silhouette. Just behind the Dolmabahçe Palace and the mosque, there is a giant bogey building like a ghoul… This monstrous building was one, then ten, then twenty, later it became a road, and the lastly the number of which was uncertain.
Every time I come to Istanbul, I visit places that have memories for me. However, in recent years, I have started to return with sadness after every visit. I mentioned in an article, I wanted to go to Sultantepe Grove, I saw that the huge grove was sold and 6-7 villas were built there. The house we lived in was very close to the grove, we and the people around it would have a picnic there and watch the Bosphorus. Now only the very wealthy new owners will watch the Bosphorus from there…
In another one of the visits of mine, I decided to perform the afternoon prayer at the Yeni Valide Mosque (Valide-i Cedid Mosque) in Üsküdar, I looked, and the place of the cloth of the great Ka'aba covering the wall of the mosque facing the qibla is empty. There were security guards in the mosque, I asked. “It was stolen,” he said. Security guards were sent after it was stolen, and they were guarding the empty frame. On this time, I went to the mosque again, I looked, they removed the frame where the Ka'aba cover was. Security guards too... It will probably because there is nothing left to be stolen in the mosque...
During this visit to Istanbul, I came across an interesting piece of news: The Big Maiden's Tower had vanished into thin air. We were used to hearing the girls run away, but it was strange that the big tower ran away. You know, magicians say ‘hocus pocus’ and put the cloth in his hand over the assistant lady, then when he pulls the cloth off, the lady disappears, something like that happened. First they covered the whole tower, then they did hocus pocus and the tower disappeared.
I went to Üsküdar with that curiosity, I looked, there really is no tower. You know, the symbol of Istanbul and the most prominent historical artifact in the world, which has a picture on the coins, it doesn't exist. No matter what anyone tells, it cannot be explained. All over the world, even a stone of historical monuments is meticulously preserved. It can be restored and preserved as it is. Building technology is very advanced. What do İlber Ortaylı Hodja, İskender Pala and other valuable members of the Presidential Culture and Art Commission say to this?..
What about those who think to dismantle the tower if other ‘bright ideas’ come to them… For example, like those who built the giant 77-storey building that attacked the Ka’aba by destroying the ‘Castle of Ecyad’ with its mountain, where our ancestors stood guard there for centuries; or if they think of building a building like the 828 meters high and 160 or so storey ‘Burj Khalifa’ built on an artificial island in Dubai… ‘What do we lack from them!’ if they say… Don't say ‘No more!’. Ours is like eating yoghurt by blowing it or Nasreddin Hodja slapping his son, whom he sent to fetch water, in advance… They asked Hodja, ‘Why did you hit the boy? He didn't break the jug.’ Our Hodja gave the following answer: ‘What's the use of hitting after the jug is broken?’
I don't know that, friend. Personally, I want the Maiden's Tower as it is. Besides, it is wrong to rent such structures to private or legal persons for 49 years. Don't give it to anyone. Let it be in the hands of the state. People can easily access such places. Those who come to Istanbul can also go to the Maiden's Tower. No round trip fee with boat with that astronomical figure. It can be a reasonable fee. If the citizen drinks tea there, a reasonable fee should be charged. (Tea in a small glass in the so-called public tea garden in Salacak is 8 Turkish Liras (TL). If two people drink two glasses each, 32 TL. Two bagels, one beigel 28 TL. The road fee is 60 TL for two. The cost of enjoying tea and simit for two people in Istanbul is 120 TL. This is a strange situation like the disappearance of the Maiden's Tower.) I wrote it for those who want to visit Istanbul. Take care of you and Istanbul!..