Ottoman Monuments Research Articles

TİKA’s Heritage Restoration Projects: Examples of Foreign Aid or Proof of Neo-Ottomanism?

Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Turkey has been using the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) to gain soft power and increase its influence in the Balkans, Caucasia, and Central Asia. As Turkey’s focus is on countries that were once part of the Ottoman Empire, many have characterized this attempt as Neo-Ottomanism. Especially problematic is the fact that, over the years, TİKA has funded the restoration of numerous Ottoman monuments in these regions. Using Serbia as an example, this article explores whether such projects are proof of Turkey having a ‘Neo-Ottoman agenda’ of reviving Ottoman culture and exerting influence over former Ottoman territories, or just a way of Turkey gaining soft power through foreign aid.

Contribution to an archaeology of the Ottoman Heritage in Romania: The muslim cemetery in Lanurile (Dobruja).

Despite recent increasing interest in the Ottoman materiality in Romania, local archaeological research continues to ignore its long biography, artificially separating the sites and objects from the present. No less problematic is the fact that heritage policies focus solely on the more “famous” Ottoman monuments built by the elites, while ignoring the “modest” architecture found, for example, in rural areas. In order to redress these shortcomings, this study looks at the long biography (from the Ottoman period up to the present day) of the Muslim cemetery in Lanurile in rural Dobruja (Bărăganu commune, Constanţa County), analysing it in relation to other material elements from the neighbouring village of Bărăganu. Ottoman documents mention these two villages by the names Osman-Facı and Ebeköyü, both being inhabited by Turks and Tatars and both part of the kaza of Mangalia. The two villages were renamed Bărăganu and Lanurile, respectively, after the inclusion of Dobruja in the Romanian state in 1878. Gradually – in particular during the 1970s and, increasingly, after 1990 – the inhabitants of these villages (Romanians and Turks/Tatars) began to migrate to nearby towns and cities (Basarabi, Medgidia and Constanţa) or to Turkey (in the case of Turks and Tatars). According to local testimony, this migration occurred simultaneously with the settlement in Bărăganu and Lanurile of many families from the Moldavia region. As a result of this massive depopulation, the Muslim cemeteries are the only remaining material legacy of the villages’ Ottoman past. Lanurile cemetery in particular reflects a genealogical depth (through the extensive and dense distribution of funerary monuments), an aspiration to enduring memory (through the monumentality and durability of the funerary stelae) and an image of eternity (through the monotony of the stones planted in the ground). This funerary space is at one and the same time a monument to a disappeared community, a necropolis in the process of becoming an archaeological site and still-functioning cemetery with a long biography. The present study thus seeks to examine the relationships between the materiality of the Ottoman heritage, the material memory of the Turkish and Tatar communities, local commemorative practices, and the social effects of modernity.

The Preservation of Ottoman Monuments in Hungary: Historical Overview and Present Endeavours

Abstract In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the central territory of Hungary was occupied by the Ottoman Empire. This long occupation resulted in the creation of what are the northernmost examples of Ottoman architecture in a cultural environment framed by non-Muslim structures. Since 1699, when the Ottoman Empire lost its influence over its Hungarian territories, Islamic religious buildings became private property or came under the maintenance of the Church or monastic orders. In 2013, an extraordinary process began: with the official cooperation and the financial support of the Republics of Turkey and Hungary, experts from both countries initiated projects to preserve and restore the Ottoman monuments in Hungary. Although a similar approach had been adopted in many countries in the Balkan Peninsula – for example in Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, and Kosovo, this was one of the first attempts at an institutionalised, global dialogue on the preservation and restoration works of Islamic sacral heritage within both Hungary and the European Union. This article presents the history of the preservation and restoration works of Ottoman heritage in Hungary. In addition, some of the unique structural features are outlined as these will be taken into consideration during present and future restoration efforts.

History and Activism Combined: An Interview with Machiel Kiel on his Life-Long Efforts to Save Ottoman Monuments by Faruk Yaslıçimen

History and Activism Combined: An Interview with Machiel Kiel on his Life-Long Efforts to Save Ottoman Monuments by Faruk Yaslıçimen

Beytülmakdis'in Osmanlı Anıtları: Creswell'in 1919-1920 Arşiv Fotoğraf Koleksiyonunun İncelenmesi

يتناول هذا البحث آثار بيت المقدس العثمانية: دراسة لمجموعة صور أرشيفية لكريزويل من سنة 1919 إلى سنة 1920، من خلال دراسة لمجموعة صور أرشيفية لمجموعة خاصة بالباحثة قام بتصويرها عالم الآثار الإسلامية الإنجليزي "كيبيل أرتشيبلد كاميرون كريزويل"(Keppel Archibald Cameron Creswell) أو "كريزيول" الذي قام بزيارة المشرق الإسلامي في الفترة من سنة 1919 إلى سنة 1920، تلتها عدة زيارات إلى المشرق الإسلامي حتى سنة 1924 قبل أن يستقر بمصر، ويبدأ عمله بها في معهد الآثار الإسلامية ولجنة حفظ الآثار العربية، ومن ثم البدء في عمل مؤلفاته وأبحاثه ومقالاته عن الآثار الإسلامية في العالم الإسلامي. كان "كريزويل" ضابطا في الجيش الإنجليزي عندما بدأ رحلته من لندن اتجاه المشرق العربي، فكانت أولى محطة رحلته الطويلة في مجال الآثار الإسلامية في القدس أثناء الاحتلال البريطاني بعد الحرب العالمية الأولى، ثم انتقل إلى مصر سنة 1917، ثم سافر إلى سوريا سنة 1919 بعد انتهاء الحرب العالمية الأولى؛ حيث قام كريزويل بتصوير مدن سوريا التي كان يُطلق عليها اسم سوريا الكبرى، وتضم سوريا ووادي الأردن وعَمان والعراق، تلتها عدة زيارات للقدس قام فيها بتصوير وتوثيق أثار بيت المقدس وفلسطين، مخلفا وراءه مجموعة كبيرة من هذه الصور التاريخية. تحتفظ الباحثة بجزء كبير من صور بيت المقدس وآثاره التي قام "كريزويل" بتصويرها في مجموعتها الخاصة الشخصية، وهي نسخة أصلية قام كريزويل بطباعتها في لندن في الغالب، وأعاد طباعتها فيما بعد طوال فترة حياته، وحتى وفاته سنة 1974 وأهدى نسخة منها للجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة The American University in Cairo، أما اللوحات الزجاجية أو النيجاتيف الخاص بالصور فإنها موجودة في متحف الأشموليان Ashmolean Museum بأكسفورد بإنجلترا. ينقسم هذا البحث إلى ثلاثة أقسام: القسم الأول: خاص بالأحداث التاريخية ببلاد المشرق العربي في أوائل القرن العشرين، ويتناول هذا القسم المؤامرات التي تمت على بلاد المشرق العربي، والخلفيات التاريخية التي أدت إلى قيام الحرب العالمية الأولى ثم انتهائها، وأثر ذلك على بلاد المشرق العربي والدولة العثمانية. أما القسم الثاني: فهو خاص برحلة "كريزويل" إلى المشرق العربي وبيت المقدس وتوثيقه لبعض الآثار الموجودة به. والقسم الثالث فيه عرض لبعض الآثار التي يرجع تاريخها للعصر العثماني من خلال الصور التي قام بتصويرها كريزويل، ونبذة تاريخية ومعمارية عن كل أثر.

Some considerations in the translation of Sixteenth Century Ottoman monuments into modern English

Few
 texts of Ottoman literary monuments from the nearly six-hundred-years of the
 Ottoman Empire are in print or in modern European languages. Moreover in 1928,
 the Turkish Republic dispossessed the old educated elite of their most valuable
 asset‒literacy.
 Worse, most Ottoman literary monuments are extant only in manuscript form and
 may exist in several versions, somewhat or radically different from one
 another. A chronicler, for example, may not have written what was attributed to
 him. A published edition is unreliable if its text was not critically edited. Bureaucratic or
 temporal handwriting variations also present difficulties. First, a critical
 edition must be chosen or prepared after philological principles. Proficiency
 in modern Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Arabic and Persian is mandatory. Second, a
 translator must determine its genre and sub-genre as literary (i.e., poetry and
 prose as humor, satire, sarcasm, praise, mysticism) or non-literary
 (governmental or commercial). The audience may be quite small, perhaps only a
 few thousand scholars and students. For example, a translation of government
 documents may be useful to modern historians. One must then select an analogous
 genre and style in the language of the target audience. The style of
 translation must suit that of the source document yet stay within the register
 of the intended contemporary readers. A balance must be struck between the need
 to communicate and the need to introduce something new and original to the
 target audience. Every attempt should be made to limit the cultural strangeness
 and temporal remoteness of the document.

Ottoman archaeology in Greece: a new research field

Some areas of the territory of present-day Greece were under Ottoman rule for more than 500 years. To date, the study of this period has largely been neglected, with academic research generally focused on Prehistoric and ancient Greece. However, over the course of the last 20 years, there have been noteworthy developments in the study of the Ottoman history and archaeology of Greece. This paper has two aims: (1) to summarize research conducted in the fields of Ottoman archaeology and material culture in Greece, focusing on demographics, settlement layouts and ceramics, particularly table wares; and (2) to present recent efforts to record and protect the Ottoman monuments of Greece.

UKRAINE — TURKEY: THE VERGES OF COOPERATION

The formation of the scientific cooperation of Ukraine and Turkey began from the beginning of independence state, after crushing of Soviet ideological system. From 1989. the archaeological investigations of historical center of Ochakiv (Mikolayiv region) begin by expedition of the Institute of archaeology of NAN of Ukraine. The study of new collection, which include numerous artefacts of Turkish culture needed with consultations with Turkish archaeologists. Due to help of the Ambassador of Turkey in Ukraine Acar Germen, the first international contacts were established and in 1997—1998. first project in Ochakiv provided under the chief of prof. B. Ersoy from Turkish side. In 1999 began joint the excavation in Akkerman, which continue till 2006. The results of expedition published in numerous books and articles. The next direction of cooperation were exhibitions, which take place in Kiev and Izmir. In 2005. the historical and cultural association Ukraine-Turkey created, member of which represented various fields of study: archaeology, history, literature and language. A very important place take archaeological investigation of the Ottoman monuments on the territory of Ukraine, which allow to discover new view on the history both of countries, reconstruction of integrations in the system of material culture.

Late Byzantine bridges as markers of imagined landscapes

Bridges provide safe passage over natural obstacles, primarily over rivers. They form an integral part of hydraulic landscapes and define territories and boundaries. The physical appearance of bridges as structures overwhelming and even ‘humiliating’ the river has granted them symbolic meanings as triumphal monuments visualizing the conquest of a river and the expansion of state territory, or as a liminal space between opposed worlds. This paper investigates the significance of Late Byzantine bridges (1204–1453) as an architectural and cultural phenomenon. It examines built structures, as well as imagined representations in visual and written sources, in an interdisciplinary framework. The discussion of Byzantine bridges and their comparison to Seljuk and Ottoman monuments emphasizes the significance of this particular class of monument as an expression of power and as a defining element of hydraulic landscapes — both real and imagined.

The Significance and Representation of the Nuruosmaniye Mosque as a Baroque Monument

The Baroque style of architectural building, which had prevailed in much of Europe during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, emerged for the first time in the mid-eighteenth century in Istanbul. It was the Nuruosmaniye mosque in its Baroque tendencies that broke away from the traditional Anatolian and distinctive classical Sinan style of building. As Cerasi puts it, "It is no rough quotation or mere imitation of foreign styles, but a clever transposition of a foreign vocabulary into a perfectly dominated indigenous poesis." (Cerasi 1988: 98) This genius in reversing the roles and borrowing this foreign language of Baroque and applying it on a monument from Ottoman Turkey in a synthesis of two worlds is at the core of the Nuruosmaniye, which is considered one of the best representations of Baroque spirit in the Ottoman Empire. Moreover, what adds to this mystery is the little information regarding the architect and the direct origins that influenced the building of this mosque. This paper addresses the events that led to the building of the Nuruosmaniye and the penetration of Baroque influence into Turkey. While the character of the Nuruosmaniye retains a certain originality amongst the mosques of its time, true recognition of the Nuruosmaniye seems to have been suspended. With the exception of a few historians, the likes of Dogan Kuban and Aptullah Kuran, one may postulate that the Nuruosmaniye has been poorly represented in current historiography on Ottoman art—especially in contrast with previous Ottoman monuments, namely those of the Sinan period. While presenting a rich and rare evaluation of the Nuruosmaniye, this paper attempts to counterbalance the Nuruosmaniye's absence from literature dealing with Ottoman an history.

The Survey Program of Ernő Foerk on the Türbe of Pécs

Abstract Ernő Foerk (1868-1934) born 150 years ago has significant oeuvre in the field of monument preservation and architectural education. As professor, one of his achievements was the organisation of summer survey camps named as ‘szünidei felvételek’ (vacation records) which was also accessible in published form. In the year of 1917 under his supervision, his students have surveyed all the scored Ottoman monuments of Hungary. In the following year these survey drawings were published with a brief summary of the history of Ottoman architecture in the territory of Hungary. Our paper is to submit the general circumstances of the Ottoman survey program supervised by Ernő Foerk with its historical background and the analysis of the methodology of the survey by the example of the türbe of Pécs.

Ottoman Mosque in the Balkans as the Legacy for the Contemporary Expression

The paper explains main characteristics of existing Ottoman monuments in several Balkan countries. Ottoman architectural activity in the Balkan provinces largely reflected architectural styles founded in the principal centers of the Ottoman Empire. A few buildings were designed by the principal architects of the Empire. Traces of local diversity can be found in the designs together with certain variations in building typology, which reflect prevailing social and environmental conditions as well as local traditions, building technique and materials. Among the remaining monuments of urban environments, besides bridges, hans , hammams , and other building types, mosques largely witness a long and rich architectural Ottoman past. Concerning the typology of a mosque, mostly a single–domed type with a three–bay portico and slender minaret was the common model throughout the Balkans from the 16 th to 18 th century. Today this model still remains in the eyes of many Muslim communities and individuals the ideal model of an Islamic place of worship. The twentieth century, however, has revealed a divergence in approach to the mosque design. While numerous mosques in some Balkan countries are designed on the populist vision of the Ottoman model, a growing number of architects seek to develop a contemporary idiom in mosque design as an appropriate expression of Muslim societies.

Seljuk Past and Timurid Present: Tile Decoration of the Yeşil Külliye in Bursa

This article focuses on the Yeşil Külliye in Bursa, Turkey, built in 1419–24. Even though it is one of the major Ottoman monuments of the early fifteenth century, the complex—a mosque-zāviye, madrasa, mausoleum, bath, and kitchen—has not been viewed in the broader context of its time, when the political situation forced the Ottoman sultan to reposition his struggling empire between Anatolia, Timurid Central Asia, and the Balkans. Whereas early Ottoman architecture, from the emergence of the principality until the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, has been reevaluated in recent years, the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries are only gradually receiving increased scholarly attention. The Ottoman sultan Bayezid I, defeated by the Mongol conqueror Timur, was led into captivity after the battle of Ankara in 1402, and his son Mehmed Çelebi eventually emerged victorious from a civil war with his brothers. In 1413 he came to the throne as Mehmed I, ruling as sultan of the Ottoman Empire until his death in 1421. The Yeşil Külliye was a focus of Mehmed I’s patronage. I argue that the elaborate tile decoration of the mosque and mausoleum created a deliberate dialogue with both the Anatolian heritage of Seljuk architecture and the broader Persianate culture of post-Mongol Iran and Central Asia. With their varied techniques, color schemes, and visual references, the tiles signal the extent to which Ottoman visual culture in the early fifteenth century mirrored the constant renegotiation of power, rule, and representation that involved the sultan, his historians, and his builders.

نصوص الإنشاء و التجديد بالعمائر الدينية بمدينة طرابلس الشام في العصر العثماني : دراسة في المضمون

This paper deals with the study of ten foundation inscriptions on the Ottoman monuments in Tripoli, Lebanon. The inscriptions found in eight monuments, such as Awayseya Mosque (940 AH/1534), Madrassa al-Mahmoudiyah (995 AH/1587), Tawbah Mosque (1021 AH/1612) and Mahmoud al-Sangak Minaret (1295 AH/1878). The foundation inscriptions contains five basic elements, the Basmala or pious invocation to God, a verb indicating what was done, the object of the work, the name of the patron and the date of construction. The paper is a comparative analysis in Ottoman foundation inscriptions in Tripoli, Lebanon.

The Ottoman Hammam Al-Ward In Saida, Lebanon

Hammam Al-Ward is an Ottoman monument in Saida. Siada (or Sidon) is a coastal city in Lebanon and a hidden treasure with numerous Mamluk and Ottoman monuments. These monuments are of various types, from mosques to hammams to palaces and khans. They remain unstudied and at times undocumented. This is an architectural monograph of Hammam Al-Ward placed within the urban history of the city and the social practices of its inhabitants. Through documentation and comparative analysis, the paper argues that the hammam was built during the early eighteenth century but carries within it an old tradition of building that dates back to the Mamluk period and an old socio-spatial practice that dates back to Roman times. The article investigates and presents the urban condition that unfolds through the hammam patronage, style and location, the architectural interpretation of the hammam type of the Mediterranean Arab World and the socio-spatial practices of bathing and leisure that continue till modern times.

The Ottoman balnear buildings of Crete, issues regarding their construction, water supply and present situation

Crete's Ottoman conquest from the Venetians took place during the last decades of the 17th c. Ottoman Turks enriched the historic centres of Herakleio, Chania, Rethymno, etc. with secular buildings corresponding to their everyday needs. Former Venetian structures were remodelled, while new religious and commercial ones, as well as of domestic character, were constructed. Hammams ('Turkish baths') were among them, as they fulfilled hygiene conditions, but mostly due to the Koran prescriptions regarding body and soul purification. Many Ottoman monuments in Greece have been lately restored and been given new uses, while in a few cases maintain their original one.

The Mehmet Khalil Agha Mosque In The Greek City Of Drama

The paper investigates the Mehmet Khalil Agha Mosque in the Greek city of Drama as a case study highlights the existed Ottoman monuments in Greece; and draws as well the attention to preserve those which in need of restoration among which. It gives a brief historical layout of the city of drama under the Ottoman domination, specifically in light of EvliyaCelebi description, and then notes the existed Ottoman monuments in Drama. It provides a detailed documentation of the Mosque in its current state including its fine wall-paintings and inscription.

مباني قبعة الجزائر العثمانية : دراسة تاريخية أثرية

تتناول هذه الدراسة معلما أثريا من أهم الآثار العثمانية في مدينة الجزائر، ويتمثل في قلعة الجزائر ومبانيها. يعود تاريخ بنائها إلى سنة 1516م. وقد اكتسبت أهمية خاصة بعد سنة (1232هـ/ 1816م)، لأن الداي علي باشا قرر نقل مقر الحكم من دار الجنينة التي كانت مقرا للديوان إلى القلعة، وقد تم ذلك ليلا، وبمساعدة بعض أهالي المدينة. لذلك من الضروري أن نبدأ هذه الدراسة بإعطاء لمحة تاريخية عن تطور مدينة الجزائر، وقلعتها منذ دخول العثمانيين إليها، إلى غاية الاحتلال الفرنسي. This study presents one of the most important Ottoman monuments in Algiers which is El Kasbah castle. The castle was constructed in 1516 AD by Uruς Barbaros. It gained more importance since 1816 AD when Ali pasha decided to transfer the government headquarters from Djenina palace to the castle. This change was carried out at night with the help of some locals. This castle didn’t attract only the historians, but it attracted also many French architects and doctors, because of its architectural and civilizational advantages it gained throughout its history. Therefore, it is essential that we begin this study by giving a historical overview of the evolution of the city of Algiers, and the castle since the entry to the Ottomans, until the French occupation.

Strategy for Integrated Surveying Techniques Finalized to Interpretive Models in a Byzantine Church, Mesopotam, Albania

The research is part of a larger project, within an international cooperation, supported by UNESCO, for the study, restoration, and revitalization of Byzantine and Ottoman monuments in Southern Albania. The project was carried out on the Saint Nicholas monastic complex located in the Mesopotam area (Albania) by a multidisciplinary group of researchers from different Italian universities. Using integrated surveying technologies, the diagnostic investigation focused on enhancing our knowledge of structural behavior as a qualifying element for future conservation and maintenance programs. The aim was to develop interpretive models able to connect thematic and geometric information to the history of the monument by reading and recognizing the constructive technologies that were employed. Hence, the term “surveying techniques” includes geometrical surveys by laser scanner and photogrammetry, stratigraphic analysis, crack pattern surveys, and crack monitoring. The study was carried out on the Church of Saint Nicholas in order to collect data on the morphological and structural problems of the building. The results show that the damage of the structure started long ago and was probably caused by earthquakes. Moreover, the continuous, slow, long-term outward movement of the facades and of the apse should be controlled by an appropriate design for strengthening and repair. At the same time, the methodology highlighted the need for investigating the different structural technologies and skills before planning interventions. With such a common geospatial semantic matrix, progressively developing toward a historical building information four-dimensional (4D)model, further surveys—using techniques ranging from the micro-UAV campaign to multispectral analysis—can be better oriented in the future.

Architectural Anatomy of an Ottoman Execution

Architectural Anatomy of an Ottoman Execution provides an architectural analysis of the execution in 1416 of Sheikh Bedreddin as the leader of one of the largest rebellions in Ottoman history. Saygin Salgirli argues that the selection of the execution site in the proximity of three Ottoman monuments in Serres, northern Greece (the Çandarlı Mosque, the first covered market of Serres, and the Gazi Evrenos hospice-kitchen), was closely related to the Ottoman political practice of governance through local institutions established with the hope of maintaining social consensus. By focusing on the relationship between the three monuments and their audiences, Salgirli stresses the contradiction between the conceived and the experienced political effects of the monuments as one of the main reasons behind the Rebellion of 1416. The same contradiction eventually led to the failure of the intended effect of Bedreddin’s public execution, both as a display of authority and as an attempt to reinforce social consensus.