Priest's Tower: was to be restored; turned into a dump

- Priest's Tower: was to be restored; turned into a dump -

The interior of the historical Priest Tower, located in Yörük Ali Efe Park in Buca Efeler District, turned into a garbage dump due to lack of maintenance.

Last term, it was brought to the agenda that the units of Buca Municipality applied to the Monuments Board to restore the historical tower. However, the process did not continue afterwards and no work was done for the tower. Over time, the tower has been used by people to drink alcohol, light a fire, play area, etc. It continued to be used for reasons. In this process, it is seen that the stones of the tower were deliberately removed, a fire was lit, as can be understood from the blackness on the inside of the tower, and the entrance gate of the tower and the stones around it were deliberately damaged by people in order to get inside. The signs installed on the entrance door and the window behind the tower to prevent people from entering caused further damage to the tower, let alone stopping people from entering.

The formerly empty land in Koşutepesi was turned into a park in December 2012. During this period, the abandoned tower was partially restored. However, while the park has been used by citizens since then, the tower has remained derelict and has become increasingly dilapidated. Uncertainty regarding the restoration process of the tower continues. It was stated in the past that the tower could be turned into a cafeteria.

^{View of the tower in the early 1920s (Photo: Levantine Heritage)}

^{The front view of the tower}

^{The rear view of the tower}

^{A view from 2012, when the park was first organized - The tower, which was undergoing partial restoration at that time, is seen at the far end (Photo: İHA)}

The first known owners of the tower are Robert Ashe, one of the pastors of Buca Protestant Church, and his family. The family probably bought this tower for summer use from a Greek local. The family mainly resided in Buca. Although they came to Turkey after the war between 1919 and 1922, their return did not last long. In 1925, they completely left Buca, where non-Muslims were now a minority. Old-timers of Buca remember that the tower was still used by people until the 1970s. Probably no work was done on it from this date until the park study in 2012. The house next to the tower was also demolished during this period.

Priest's Tower was also used in a few scenes in the 1965 movie Yaralı Kartal, starring Yılmaz Güney and Pervin Par. In this period, it seems that the tower and the house next to it are still standing, but are far from their old appearance.

^{The inside of the tower has turned into a garbage dump}

^{A fire was lit under the stairs inside the tower}

For Robert Pickering Ashe's memories of the tower - click here

Source: atalarimizintopraklari.com