Marmara Marble

HISTORY

The first settlement on the island was Miletos in ancient times. The settlement, which was connected with sea colonies on the island, has continued with the Turks since the 15th century. The Greeks, who make up the majority of the island population, have lived side by side with the Turks for centuries. When the Greeks had to go to Greece in accordance with the provisions of the Exchange Article of the Treaty of Lausanne, especially those who came from the Black Sea Region and those who came from the Island of Crete by exchange, the island, whose ancient name was Prokonnesos, was connected to the Delos naval union with Kyzikos. Since ancient times, it has attracted the attention of the most famous commanders of the Roman and Byzantine Empires, who wanted to reconstruct the country due to its marble deposits. The marbles of the mosques and palaces built during the Ottoman period were obtained from here. The island was used as a naval base during the Roman and Byzantine periods.

According to the data obtained from the archaeological studies carried out in the ancient quarries, according to the data obtained from the Marmara studies, the people of Samos and Miletos, who came and settled on the Marmara Island from outside, established the first settlement on the island. Those who came to Miletos discovered the rich marble deposits in the north-east of the island and started to work. B.C. Some of the columns of the famous Temple of Artemis, the largest of the Hellenistic temples built in 560-550 BC, were made of Marmara marble.

ROMAN PERIOD

Marble quarries of Marmara Island showed intense activity during the Roman Period of Miletos. During this period, architectural and sculptural works were produced in marble quarries and shipped to all Anatolian, Adriatic, Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts by Roman trade ships. Marmara marble was sent only in blocks or semi-processed, and decoration and processing details were made where they were received.

BYZANTINE PERIOD

Columns and capitals used in church and monastery architecture in the Byzantine period were mostly made of Marmara Marble. There are such titles in Hagia Sophia and Hagia Irene. The blocks extracted from the quarries during the Byzantine period were transformed into fully processed products instead of semi-processed products and shipped. The most important finding that shows how much the marble processing technique developed in the Byzantine period on the Marmara Island is the column with a diameter of 4.45 meters, whose weight is approaching 180 tons, located in the Harmantaş locality. It was not shipped because it cracked while being moved to be brought.

OTTOMAN PERIOD

The art of stonework reached its peak in Ottoman architecture. Among the architectural works of this period, the Süleymaniye Mosque, Dolmabahçe Palace, Çırağan Palace and many other works such as these works, the primary preference of the architects of the period was Marmara marble. marble; Architects, who used it as building stone, column, carrier element, wall covering, flooring and decoration material, gave a special importance to Marmara’s marble.