Yeni Kapi Harbour - Istanbul Sea Buses Voyages The Yenikapi site, located in the Istanbul neighborhood of the same name, was first revealed in 2004 during the construction of a subterranean rail line and station for a new rail link between Europe and Asia. Archaeologists from the Istanbul Archaeological Museums quickly realized they were looking at the ancient harbor of Theodosius, one of Constantinople's trade harbors, built during the reign of Theodosius (AD 379-395). A major trade center from the 4th century until river silt filled it in around 1500, the harbor, its stone walls, and amazingly well-preserved remnants of the port’s activities lay forgotten for centuries. Between 2004 and 2008 the site was one of the world’s largest archaeological digs. Each day, hundreds of laborers dug under the direction of the Istanbul Archeological Museums. Yenikapi’s wet soils have revealed everything from the foundations of wattle-and-daub mud huts from the Chalcolithic period (4500 to 3500 BC) to elegant Ottoman structures, and myriad artifacts ranging from wooden combs and Byzantine leather shoes to the bones of hard-worked dockside horses and camels, and human skulls that may have come from criminals whose severed heads were tossed in the harbor. Archaeologists also found an always-increasing number of ship remains and anchors from what was once the harbor floor. As of 2008, the remains of 32 separate vessels dating from the 5th to the 11th centuries had emerged from the mud. The first archaeological examples of Byzantine rowed ships—perhaps warships—as well as merchant vessels, some with cargoes, lay preserved thanks to their burial in a thick layer of wet mud.  Istanbul Archaeological Museums turned to Istanbul University’s Conservation Department to deal with most of the ship remains, but eight hulls dating from the 7th to the 11th centuries were turned over to INA Vice President and Texas A&M University professor Cemal Pulak. With his characteristic attention to detail and meticulous scholarship, Cemal, archaeologist Sheila Matthews and a hard working team of INA staff and Texas A&M graduate students worked for over two years in the heat and mud of the active construction site in tent-covered pits to document and carefully recover the ship remains. While many of the timbers are well preserved, with original tool marks and intricate detail, they can also be very fragile, with the consistency of wet cardboard. It makes the job even more challenging, and yet the patience and persistence of Cemal’s team made a difference.  The Yenikapi dig was most likely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with a diverse collection of hulls from this period. It also means that in time, after analysis, the work at Yenikapi will rewrite the book on Byzantine shipbuilding as well as the role of maritime trade in the history of Constantinople and the later Roman Empire. Yenikapi Ferry Docks, Yenikapi Fery Harbour Istanbul's Yenikapi ferry terminal is an important transport nexus for transport to Yalova (for Iznik and Bursa), and Bandirma (for the Marmara and Aegean coast). Fast catamaran "Sea Bus" ferries zoom to and from various points in the Istanbul metropolitan area, including Bostanci, Bakirkoy and Kadikoy, and also across the Sea of Marmara to Yalova and Bandirma, as well as to Sea of Marmara ports such as Armutlu, Mudanya, Avsa, Marmara island, Cinarcik, Esenkoy and Kucuk Kumla. Here's more on Sea of Marmara car and passenger ferries. Surburban trains (banliyo trenleri) depart Sirkeci Station for Halkali, stopping at Yenikapi along the route. If you are staying at a Sultanahmet hotel south and east of the Hippodrome (on Kutlugun, Akbiyik, Mimar Mehmet Aga or Amiral Tafdil sokaks, for example), it's more convenient to walk downhill to the Cankurtaran station to catch the surburban train toward Halkali. It's about a 15- or 20-minute walk south from the Aksaray Metro terminus or the Yusufpasa stop on the Zeytinburnu-Eminonu/Kabatas tram line along Ataturk Caddesi to the Yenikapi ferry terminal. Yenikapi has been designated an important nexus in Istanbul's public transport system, the spot where Metro and suburban rail lines meet fast ferries. The Marmaray Project, putting a rail tunnel beneath the Bosphorus, was planned to link with the Metro and ferry docks in a huge underground terminal at Yenikapi. In November 2005, excavations for the terminal revealed the Theodosian harbor of Constantinople, with artifacts dating from the 300s AD. Teams of excavators converted the terminal construction into Istanbul's largest archeological site, revealing foundations of a church, a city gate, and eight sunken ships. Work continues.... |
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