Architecture, which is the most technical of all arts, has ideas, vision and missionrelated to all the different spheres of life. It not only enables creating the most suitable spaces providing quality life standards, but it is also the name of the cultural mark stamped on those lands by the people of that country, that city. This aspect of architecture is most brilliantly exemplified by Istanbul, with its innumerable historical edifices. Although it is the city that has suffered the most from unplanned development, Istanbul still maintains the evidences of two great civilizations. On one hand, the great works of the Byzantine civilization; the aqueducts, city walls, Hagia Sophia, mosaics, the Palace of Justinianus and many others, and on the other hand, the most sophisticated examples of Ottoman civilization and art of architecture, from Süleymaniye to the Topkapı Palace, from innumerable big and small mosques, fountains, bridges to the magnificent wooden houses. Hence, the contents of the 'Architectural Guide to Istanbul' alsa serve to summarize the 4500 year long Istanbul adventure of mankind. I would like to express that both with my identity as the local administrator of Istanbul and an architect and art historian, I deem this endeavor most important. This endeavor, which in a way puts forth the inventory of the architectural cultural heritage of Istanbul, sets the framework of the cultural and aesthetic connection of our city's past with its present. My primary objective as an architect mayor is to reconcile Istanbul with its aesthetic historical identity through the urban transformatian that is being effectuated. Unfortunately, the dominant architectural approach characterizing Istanbul is far from being those of contemporary architecture and its requirements. I would be happy to see the 'Architectural Guide to Istanbul' set the scene for us, as architects, to review and discuss our responsibilities vis-a-vis this issue... Architect Dr. Kadir Topbaş - Mayor of Metropolitan Istanbul

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