Asli and her husband, both architects educated at Istanbul Technical University, previously had a lightshop in Şişhane before moving the shop to another district. Asli gives a guided tour showing the production and sales networks in the district. Sishane’s unique production networks are currently under pressure because of gentrification and Far East imports. Şişhane is close to the landmark Galata tower and has about 10.000 studios and shops specialized in light and electricity. It has been the light producing district of Turkey for more than 100 years. It was the place where the first electrical light came to Turkey and streetlamps were first installed. Because the district was close to the Galata Port, a 19th century type ‘Silicon Valley’ developed where the new technology came ashore. The focus of this tour is on the intangible heritage of the unique production network of small producers in the district: Each producer has a workshop specialized in one item, material or a whole range of materials and techniques. When for instance an order for 100 lamps comes in, one studio makes the foot of the lamps, another makes the ironwork in the lampshade and yet another the textile covering of lampshades. There are also people that are interdependent on the network of producers: tea-men, people who carry loads from one location to another or people who retrieve money from other shops or studios, bookkeepers and salespeople working in the district. Together they form one big production and sales network in a very small area.
A second part of the tour of the Galata district (of which Sishane is a part) was given by Mete who runs a Georgian restaurant in ‘Eski Ingiliz Karakolu’ the former British prison in this historic Genoese quarter of the city. Mete is intent on preserving the original architectural fabric of the district and further contextualized the interplay of history, architecture, industries and the political and commercial developments in the district.