Yet the greater part of these works were destroyed in the disastrous events the city witnessed in the course of its history - its revolts, its occupations, its earthquakes and, above all, its fires and conflagrations.

And now, towards the end of the twentieth century, after so many long years, this favorite city of the ancient world has at last acquired a library that could never even have been thought of at any previous epoch of its history. This is a library housing all the books on the subject of Istanbul, and exhibiting. all the engravings, sketches and photographs depicting its development over the centuries.

Throughout the whole of its history, this ancient capital of three empires was the center of world-wide interest and admiration and provided the subject of innumerable literary and scholarly works, while a book published in Western Europe has always been very quickly translated into other European languages, Istanbul, for several social and cultural reasons, was destined to remain completely ignorant of all the various studies and monographs that took the city as their subject.

The Istanbul Library has been opened in order to fill this gap by providing a center in which all the books on the subject of Istanbul can be collected, while a secondary function of this new cultural centre will be to have the most important of the works comprising the library translated into Turkish and so made available to a wider Turkish public.

The project was conceived by Çelik Gülersoy, whose signature is to be found on so many of the old Istanbul buildings that have been repaired and revitalized in recent years.

He himself has laid the foundation for the realization of this project by donating his own very rich personal collection, comprising books published over the last four hundred years.

The library is located in Sogukçesme Sokagi (Gold Fountain Street) in a typical, completely unspoiled corner of Istanbul, in which the historical atmosphere of the old city survives undisturbed. In this way, one of the buildings in this street, which consists mainly of a string of small hotels opened by the Touring and Automobile Association of Turkey, has been converted into a cultural center of international importance.

LIBRARY SECTIONS

1. Rome and Byzantium
2. Ottoman History
3. Studies: * Works giving a systematic and comprehensive study of Istanbul . *Works examining a single topic connected with Istanbul * Works examining a single district or a single building.
4. Travel Books
5. Ambassadors Reports
6. Memoirs
7. Fine Arts
8. Biography. Works on individuals connected with Istanbul and other works written by them
9. Literature
10. Town Planning and Municipal Questions
11. Organizations
12. General Works on Turkey
13. Guides to Turkey
14. Guides to Istanbul
15. Engravings and Photographs (Albums)
16. Reference Books
17. Periodicals

The most important of the books contained in these various sections will be translated into Turkish and a series of books published under the above headings.

ISTANBUL LIBRARY

The library is housed in a two-storied building. On the ground floor is the inquires desk, together with the periodicals section, surplus copies, photocopies of rare books, archives and technical apparatus. The upper floor houses a library of rare books and a reading room.

Behind, stretch the gardens of the Sur-u Hümayun and Topkapi Palace, while, in front, Ayasofya occupies the central position in a breath-taking urban landscape.

The success of this new home of culture and learning, the first of its kind in the history of Istanbul, depends upon the interest and support it receives. The names of donors are inscribed on a Roll of Honor in the Library.