Cossack topography of Istanbul and its surroundings in the mid XIX century

Abstract

The topography of Istanbul is multi-layered, reflecting different periods and components of the historical process of the Metropolis from antiquity to the present. One of the components of the military trace is the Cossack places - connected with the Ottoman Cossack regiments created in 1853 under command of Mehmed Sadik Pasha (Czajkowski). By the 1870s, barracks, headquarter, officers' residences, Adampil suburban colony, suburban estates, etc. became the locations of Ottoman Cossacks, playing an important role in the formalized image of Istanbul as a multicultural city. Memories, archival documents, the press, and photographs allow us to trace not only the location, but also the details of life, the peculiarities of the worldview of the multinational origin Cossacks, who during the tanzimat became a certain model for the formation of the new Ottoman army. As a result of this, both the influence of the Ottoman Cossacks on the Europeanization of Turkish society and the transformation of the perception of the Slavic peoples (Bulgarians, Poles, Ukrainians) in its environment became significant. The practical result of the article is the localization of historical events related to the Ottoman Cossacks, which can become a guide for the touristic route and preservation of cultural heritage.