Pages

Sunday, September 9, 2018

AP PHOTOS: Istanbul's historic orphanage awaits salvation

BUYUKADA ISLAND, Turkey (AP) — Each morning, Erol Baytas checks for further damage on the imposing but derelict timber building on an island off Istanbul that for decades housed orphans from the minority Greek community. The scene on the hilltop on the island of Buyukada, the largest of the nine Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara, looks more like the shattered remains of a horror movie set than the majestic hotel and casino complex that it was originally intended to be. Parts of the roof have caved in, wooden panels are missing and the kitchen stoves have rusted. It's quite a fall from grace for the 120-year-old building. "Every day, a piece of the building falls out," laments Baytas, the building's 56-year-old caretaker.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.sfgate.com