Late Ottoman Architectural Style in Koya: Old Qaisaria as a Case Study

Abstract

Koya district is one of the oldest settlements in the Iraqi Kurdistan region; it has a strategic location that connects the three major cities of Erbil, Suleimani and Kirkuk; that of course enabled it to be one of the commercial stations during the Ottoman period. Koya; also known as Koysanjaq, was under the Ottoman rule starting from the 16th century until the British mandate in the end of 1918. All the remaining heritage buildings in Koya old town including houses, grand mosque and qaisarias belong to that epoch and particularly to the 19th and early 20th centuries. In many cases of these buildings, Persian scripts were found to indicate that the master builders (Austas) were from Iran. This paper aims to examine the influence of the architectural styles that were used in Turkey as the seat of the Ottoman rule, Iran, where the craftsmen came, and Iraq on developing Koya's local architectural style during the 19th century. The Old Qaisaria of Koya (1840) is chosen as a case study that exemplifies the local architectural style. The paper provides a comparative analysis of Koya's Qaisaria with other qaisarias from Iraq (Mosul), Turkey (Istanbul), and Iran (Isfahan) to find out their similarities and differences. This study provides a new insight on Koya local architectural style that could evoke further architectural studies to cover other architectural features in Koya. Keywords : Late Ottoman Architectural Style, Koya Old Town, Qaisaria, Bazaar Published: June 2020 DOI:10.14500/krc2019.Gen252 http://dx.doi.org/10.14500/krc2019.Gen252