EUGENE-HENRI GAVAND – CHEMIN DE FER SOUTERRAIN DE GALATA A PERA TUNNEL DE CONSTANTINOPLE

EXTREMELY RARE… ONE OF THE 2 KNOWN COPIES… THE OTHER COPY BELONGING TO THE GRANSON OF GAVAND WAS SOLD AT SOTHEBY’S IN 2017...

TA DETAILED ACCOUNT OF “TUNEL”, THE UNDERGROUND FUNICULAR RAILWAY IN ISTANBUL, WHICH WAS THE FIRST IN OTTOMAN EMPIRE. THE IDEA FOR THIS RAILWAY WAS CONCEIVED BY THE FRENCH CIVIL ENGINEER EUGÈNE-HENRI GAVAND IN 1867 AND IN JUNE 1869 SULTAN ABDULAZIZ GRANTED GAVAND A CONCESSION TO BUILD IT. THE CONSTRUCTION WAS CARRIED OUT FROM JUNE 1871 TO DECEMBER 1874 AND WAS INAUGURATED IN JANUARY 1875. LOCATED ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE GOLDEN HORN, THE RAILWAY GOES STEEPLY UPHILL FROM CLOSE TO SEA LEVEL, CONNECTING KARAKÖY TO BEYOGLU, AND COVERS A DISTANCE OF APPROXIMATELY 573 METRES. “TUNEL” WAS THE FOURTH UNDERGROUND RAILWAY EVER TO BE BUILT, AND IS THE SECOND-OLDEST EXTANT UNDERGROUND RAILWAY İN THE WORLD.

Estimate:150.000TL - 250.000TL