Doing more harm than good to Ottoman history
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Aslı Sağlam
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 07, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - The Public Procurement Laws inadvertantly result in restoration tenders mostly going to contractors with the lowest budgets. Archaeologist Necmi Karul says the cheapest never means the best. The lack of education about renovations, and not knowing the real meaning of restoration results in destructive work, brings social consequences
If sultans of the Ottoman Empire had used today’s bidding system for restoration work on the city’s magnificent buildings, today’s Istanbul would look more like a slum, according to one cultural assets directorate member.
Ahmet Selbesoğlu, a restorer at the Istanbul Statistical Survey and Monument Directorate, a division of the General Directorate of Cultural Assets and Museums, said the Public Procurement Laws inadvertantly result in restoration tenders mostly going to contractors with the lowest budgets.
The Istanbul Statistical Survey and Monument Directorate undertakes the restoration of cultural assets in and outside Turkey. According to Selbesoğlu, historic artifacts and buildings are being renovated on considerably small budgets.
Until today, most of the restoration work was done with the overall cost turnkey procedure, said Selbesoğlu. "The restorers are told about the places and how those places should be renovated by the landlord and a budget is designated, once the work is complete the same amount is charged if the landlord asks for additional restoration."
According to Selbesoğlu, using this procedure is not possible on ancient monuments. "Today’s system foresees the administration of the company who offers the lowest budget. The cost value of the restoration may be 100 (Turkish) liras but if a company spends 50 liras for the restoration and wants at least 10 liras profit out of it, the project is impossible to fulfill. The contracting firm would want to lower costs by using low-grade materials and labor without insurance. The government should take precautions and change the criteria of law."
The bids are carried out with the competing companies. They prepare detailed information, including details of the materials they plan to use. They also clarify the budget before making an offer.
The tenders are not given to big companies in Turkey, where lumber merchants can become contractors. The lumber merchants win bids without any surveys, plans or further projects on the buildings. Most of the work ends in disappointment.
’No such stipulation in the law’
Archaeologist and assistant professor at Istanbul University Necmi Karul said there was no such stipulation in the law that the restoration contract must go to the company with the lowest budget. "The law says the restoration work should be given to most agreeable and suitable company, yet in Turkey the bids are taken by the companies offering the lowest budget for the work," he said.
There is one thing that people should not forget according to Karul: the cheapest never means the best. The important thing is to determine the criteria, yet this is not possible in a country where there is competitive market.
"A company may claim to be able to finish the contract with three workers, paying them minimum wage. Amendments to law are not possible so the solution is giving the contracts to companies that don’t expect commercial profit. A professional group should determine the qualifications and the work should be controlled," Karul said. According to him, restoration does not mean just fixing or repairing, it means protecting the current state of the pieces and making them last as long as possible.
According to Karul the worst example of the renovation work in Turkey is Bursa’s city walls. "In Turkey occupational chambers don’t operate, so people who ruin one restoration can still win on other tenders," Karul said.
According to the restorer finding workers for restorations is also not easy. "Most of them don’t have workmanship certificates. The workers are migrants from different places in Anatolia. They are not experienced but they claim they can do it.
They don’t understand what’s important about restoration work, so problems occur. The earning of a real restoration worker should be around 10,000 liras yet they hire inexperienced workers for 1,000-1,500 liras," Selbesoğlu said. Yet the restorer gives the example of Süleymaniye and how beautifully it was renovated. "The workers during the restoration of Süleymaniye were conscious about the history and the structure of the building."
Comparing it to current restoration projects, Selbesoğlu said during the Ottoman Empire the system of construction worked well and they archived everything pertaining to blueprints and construction, yet today there is a lack of any archive system.
Once historic places, such as Süleymaniye and the Hagia Sophia are destroyed, it will be impossible to recover them. It is important to photograph copy the plans. "A professional group of photographers should follow every detail of the work done by carpenters, designers, stone masons and the rest of the construction workers," said Selbesoğlu.
’Protecting what we have and own is fundamental’
Protecting the historic and cultural assets is vital because the newly built pieces are no different than fake copies of an art piece. But repairing the historic assets is important. "One can copy Picasso’s painting but it wouldn’t cost a penny whereas the real Picasso painting costs millions of dollars. Protecting what we have and own is fundamental," he said. "Protecting an asset is keeping the memories and traces of history and it needs a certain capacity, laboratories and researchers. There shouldn’t be a Public Procurement Law to fulfill all these."
According to Karul there is also a lack of education about renovations and on the protection of history.
He said if workers in Turkey are to be successful in not destroying historical artifacts, then they should be led by a professional. According to him the equipment and materials are also as important as the management.
"A society like us is most proud of its past, yet people are informed incorrectly because of poor renovations, which has social consequences. Finishing the work does not mean that it is completed perfectly," Karul said.
Ahmet Selbesoğlu, a restorer at the Istanbul Statistical Survey and Monument Directorate, a division of the General Directorate of Cultural Assets and Museums, said the Public Procurement Laws inadvertantly result in restoration tenders mostly going to contractors with the lowest budgets.
The Istanbul Statistical Survey and Monument Directorate undertakes the restoration of cultural assets in and outside Turkey. According to Selbesoğlu, historic artifacts and buildings are being renovated on considerably small budgets.
Until today, most of the restoration work was done with the overall cost turnkey procedure, said Selbesoğlu. "The restorers are told about the places and how those places should be renovated by the landlord and a budget is designated, once the work is complete the same amount is charged if the landlord asks for additional restoration."
According to Selbesoğlu, using this procedure is not possible on ancient monuments. "Today’s system foresees the administration of the company who offers the lowest budget. The cost value of the restoration may be 100 (Turkish) liras but if a company spends 50 liras for the restoration and wants at least 10 liras profit out of it, the project is impossible to fulfill. The contracting firm would want to lower costs by using low-grade materials and labor without insurance. The government should take precautions and change the criteria of law."
The bids are carried out with the competing companies. They prepare detailed information, including details of the materials they plan to use. They also clarify the budget before making an offer.
The tenders are not given to big companies in Turkey, where lumber merchants can become contractors. The lumber merchants win bids without any surveys, plans or further projects on the buildings. Most of the work ends in disappointment.
’No such stipulation in the law’
Archaeologist and assistant professor at Istanbul University Necmi Karul said there was no such stipulation in the law that the restoration contract must go to the company with the lowest budget. "The law says the restoration work should be given to most agreeable and suitable company, yet in Turkey the bids are taken by the companies offering the lowest budget for the work," he said.
There is one thing that people should not forget according to Karul: the cheapest never means the best. The important thing is to determine the criteria, yet this is not possible in a country where there is competitive market.
"A company may claim to be able to finish the contract with three workers, paying them minimum wage. Amendments to law are not possible so the solution is giving the contracts to companies that don’t expect commercial profit. A professional group should determine the qualifications and the work should be controlled," Karul said. According to him, restoration does not mean just fixing or repairing, it means protecting the current state of the pieces and making them last as long as possible.
According to Karul the worst example of the renovation work in Turkey is Bursa’s city walls. "In Turkey occupational chambers don’t operate, so people who ruin one restoration can still win on other tenders," Karul said.
According to the restorer finding workers for restorations is also not easy. "Most of them don’t have workmanship certificates. The workers are migrants from different places in Anatolia. They are not experienced but they claim they can do it.
They don’t understand what’s important about restoration work, so problems occur. The earning of a real restoration worker should be around 10,000 liras yet they hire inexperienced workers for 1,000-1,500 liras," Selbesoğlu said. Yet the restorer gives the example of Süleymaniye and how beautifully it was renovated. "The workers during the restoration of Süleymaniye were conscious about the history and the structure of the building."
Comparing it to current restoration projects, Selbesoğlu said during the Ottoman Empire the system of construction worked well and they archived everything pertaining to blueprints and construction, yet today there is a lack of any archive system.
Once historic places, such as Süleymaniye and the Hagia Sophia are destroyed, it will be impossible to recover them. It is important to photograph copy the plans. "A professional group of photographers should follow every detail of the work done by carpenters, designers, stone masons and the rest of the construction workers," said Selbesoğlu.
’Protecting what we have and own is fundamental’
Protecting the historic and cultural assets is vital because the newly built pieces are no different than fake copies of an art piece. But repairing the historic assets is important. "One can copy Picasso’s painting but it wouldn’t cost a penny whereas the real Picasso painting costs millions of dollars. Protecting what we have and own is fundamental," he said. "Protecting an asset is keeping the memories and traces of history and it needs a certain capacity, laboratories and researchers. There shouldn’t be a Public Procurement Law to fulfill all these."
According to Karul there is also a lack of education about renovations and on the protection of history.
He said if workers in Turkey are to be successful in not destroying historical artifacts, then they should be led by a professional. According to him the equipment and materials are also as important as the management.
"A society like us is most proud of its past, yet people are informed incorrectly because of poor renovations, which has social consequences. Finishing the work does not mean that it is completed perfectly," Karul said.