GUN FOUNDRY (TOPHANE-I AMIRE)
The canon is associated in Ottoman history with Sultan Mehmed II, the city's famous conqueror. The young Sultan attaches extreme importance to it before and after conquest. This building, which gave its name to the neighbourhood, dates back to the th century. But the site has been extensively redesigned and enlarged for various reasons, the most serious renovation dates back to the time of Selim III (1803). The fatal blow will be brought to him in 1956 at the major sites begun with the aim of «air» the city, a little in the image of Baron Haussmann. The specialists speak as a «black page» because Karaköy and Galata suffer very seriously. Many buildings disappear like the schedules of the smelter or the artillery school. The building at the pistachio green facade opposite the mosque was part of the whole (Teftiş Köşkü, or more commonly Tophane Kasrı). Attached to Mimar Sinan university, it was completed in 1852 by British architect William James Smith under Sultan Abdülmecit's reign to be close to schools and port facilities. As for the smelter, it is now a cultural centre, also dependent on the university of Mimar Sinan. The unusual place is worth it. A guard monitors the entrance (8 h at sunset) and opens the doors if you show your nose.
