Etiket french institute

Manon Loisel “The Marmaray is going to change the face of Istanbul entirely,” says Nora Seni, director of the IFEA, French Institute of Anatolian Research. “Dazzling”, “providing freer movement”, “being better connected” and “revitalizing” are her keywords about the Marmaray tunnel project. The IFEA is involved in social studies and historical research. The Urban Observatory of Istanbul (OUI), a study group affiliated with IFEA, is focusing on urbanization, historical heritage and circulation of inhabitants in Istanbul. Nora Seni is conducting research in history and in urban problems. She used to teach at the Université Paris VIII before she took up her post at IFEA. On the water’s surface the small passenger ferries called vapurs are shuttling back and forth between the Asian and European parts of Istanbul. But, under the water, a colossal project is near completion. The 2.5-billion Euro project is partly financed by Japanese and German investment banks. The Ottoman dream of linking the two parts of Istanbul underwater, first put forward by Sultan Abdul Mecit 150 years ago, is being realized. The first step for the realization of this idea was taken in 1987 with the drafting of a comprehensive feasibility report. The Marmaray Rail Tube Tunnel is going to connect Halkali, on the European side with Gebze in Asia by 76 kilometers of two-track commuter rail, with 1.4 kilometers running deep into the Bosporus. Construction work started in October 2004 and laying down parts of the steel tube on the sea bed from Asia to Europe began in 2008. But digging the ground in a city known to be inhabited by human beings sincePre-historical times inevitably revealed lot of archaeological finds both on the European and Asian parts of the city. That caused work on Marmararay to fall behind schedule. Istanbul archaeologists have uncovered a 4th-Century […]