SEPTEMBRE 1949 ’ 15
The G reat Bazar of Istanbul
Books concerning the period fo llo w in g the con quest o f Istanbul mention the activity d isp layed in building and restoring. Am ong others Dursun Bey and Kritovulos assert th at Mehmed II. the Conqueror erected a building ca lle d Bedesten ( B izastan ) . Am ong later authorities E v liy a C eleb i mentions the building o f the Bedesten. M r. Saim U lgen, an architect, has showen me the tran slatio n o f a deed o f trust on a mortmain estate o f the Conqueror, w ritten in the reign of M urad III., w hich indicates that the shops surroun ding the Bedesten, and the B a za r belonged to the Fatih mortmain estate.
Kapalı çarşı kapılarından biri Une des vieilles portes du Grand Bazar
G rouping together com m ercial goods o f the same kind is an econom ical system practised since eqrliest tim es, and every town a lw a y s had a m arket-p lace. In the Ottom an period, w hen the c a p ita l w as in stalle d in Istan b ul, the conquerors proceeded to establish a b a z a r in order to group in a sheltered place the trade o f an im portant com m ercial centre.
The region w here the Bedesten w a s founded w as occupied by an cien t buildings and ruins, and
the Bedesten built by the C onqueror w a s p ro b ab ly erected on the fo un d atio n s o f some o f those ruins. But it w ould be useless to assert as some authors do, that the figu re o f an e a g le on the gate o f the Bedesten proves th at the building dates from the Byzantin e period. The thickness o f the bricks in the vaults prove them to be o f Turkish m ake. The cut stones em ployed in the p illa rs a re current sam ples o f Turkish w ork.
W e can therefo re s a fe ly adm it that the Bedesten dates from the reign o f the Conqueror, and w e can now proceed to study the developm ent o f the B aza r which grew around it.
Bedesten kapışının üstündeki kuşlar Aigles surmontant une des portes du Bedesten
As stated in the deed o f trust m entioned abo ve four streets w ere opened around the Bedesten and a m arket-place e stablished at M ahm ud-Paşa at the head o f the slope. That m arket-place w a s situated in the ground com prised betw een the street bordering the W estern fa ç a d e o f the Ç uhacı (w o o le n d ra p e rs’ ) Han and the street bordering the Kuyum cular (je w e l le rs ') m ainstreet. The m arket-place is included at present in the precincts o f the B a z a r. It is entered by
Kapalı Çarşıda Kalpakçılar Caddesi Une des principales avenues du Grand Bazar tw o arched g ate s, one situated at the head o f K ılıç ç ı la r (sw o rd se lle rs) ( 1 ) street at N uri-O sm an iye, and the second opposite the g ate o f K a lcı (m e tal re fin e r’s) H an a t the head o f the slope o f M ah m u d-P aşa. In the precincts enclosed by those tw o gates and w hich exten d as fa r as the Kuyum cular (je w e lle rs ) main- street three p a ra lle l streets, A y n a c ıla r (m irro r s e lle rs ), M u h a fa z a c ila r (k e e p e r s ), and A ğ a streets, lea d to the B edesten. Prependicu lar to those three streets are on the south the streets c a lle d A ltin c ila r (g o ld s m ith s ), V a ra k ç ıla r (fo il s e lle rs ), A k ik c ile r (co rn e lia n s e lle rs ), A ra b a c ıo ğ lu , and K a ra m a n lı, w hich a re prolonged on the north by the streets c a lle d a fte r the K a lc ıla r (m e ta l r e fin e r s ), Reisoğlu, and U ncuoğlu. In the sam e region a re the V a ra k ç ıla r (fo il se lle rs ) H an , the gate w ith stairs o f the S a n d a l Bedesten, and the Sıra O d a la r (su ite o f ro o m s), which comm unicate w ith the A y n a c ıla r (m irro r se lle rs) street by means o f a long corridor 80 centim etres w id e .
(1) The Turkish suffix ci (pronounced je) when applied to a substantive indicating commercial goods de notes indifferently one who makes, or sells those goods. Thus kılıççılar means indifferently a maker or seller of swords. In translating I have generally preferred to adopt the second meaning.
The eastern border o f th at region is occupied by one fa ç a d e o f the S a n d a l Bedesten (s a n d a l m a rk e t). Although some documents assert th at the S an d a l Bedesten dates from the reign o f the C o nq uero r. I have la te ly discovered a document w hich w as fo rm er ly the prop erty o f Selim Nüzhet and w a s purchased from him by the Lib rary o f the G a z i Institute at A n
k a ra . It is a m anuscript copy o f Taqvim -el-Tevarikh which says th at «th e B a za r o f Dam ad Ibrahim P a şa , in the vicin ity o f N uri-O sm an iye, w as com pleted in 11 43» ( A . H .) . Before w e can ascertain w hich b a z a r is im plicated it is im possible to accept as an u nd en i a b le fa c t th at the S a n d a l Bedesten dates from the reign o f the C onqueror. That part o f the B a za r dating from his reign and m entioned in the deed o f trust o f the mortmain estate as the M ahm ud-Paşa B a z a r is limited as described ab o ve . During the period of building and restoration in that region the districts o f Ç a k ır-A ğ a (m a ste r- fa lc o n e r), and D â ye Khâtûn (th e la d y n u rs e ), and late r the district o f M ercan A ğ a , w ere built on the north-western side o f the B a z a r. Ç a k ır A ğ a w as the head o f the corps o f the C o nq uero r’s fa lco n e rs.H e founded six mescids ( p rayer- p la c e s) in diffe re n t parts o f Istan b u l, and also the district w hich w a s c a lle d a fte r him, on the bo rd er o f the B a z a r. In th at district he built a m osque. A fte r w ard s when the w ho le district w a s destroyed in a fire the grounds w ere inco rporated in the B a z a r, and shops built as fa r as the Ö rücüler (p la ite rs ) G a te , on the long street w hich lead s from the Y a ğ lık ç ıla r (h a n d k e rc h ie f se lle rs) to the Ö rü cü le r. The mosque still stands, and it is accessib le by stairs.
From the co lo n nad ed streets round the Bedesten and from the S a h h a fla r (b o o k se lle rs) m ainstreet the B a za r w a s en larg e d to w ard s the north-w est. To th at period belong the p a ra lle l streets known under the names o f K a v v a fla r (s h o e m a k e rs ), P a rç a c ıla r (re ta il sellers o f tis s u e ), and P e rd a h çıla r (p o lis h e rs ), and the n arro w streets intersecting them . To the same period belong also the street o f Acı Çeşme (b itter fo u n ta in ), wich forms a right an g le with the A y n a c ı la r (m irro r se lle rs) m ainstreet at A k a r Çeşm e (fo u n tain o f running w a t e r ) , and extends as fa r as Ç a k m akçılar (flin t se lle rs) street at M ercan ; also the street o f M ercan G a te w here are seen a fo u n ta in , a h an , and a m escid. In th at region o f the B a z a r, be sides the Ö rü cüler G a te , w ere opened the Acı Çeşme and M e rcan G ate s.O n th e Y a ğ lık c ıla r ( h an d ke rch ie f se l le r s ) street,w hich lead s to the Ö rücüler (p la ite r s ) street a re hans nam ed resp ectively afte r the A s ta rc ila r (lin ing s e lle r s ), C e b ecile r (a rm o u re rs ), an d P e rd a h çıla r
(p o lis h e rs ). On the Acıçeşm e street is the Zencirli Han (th e han w hich c h a in s ), and further o ff the İm am eli H an, K ız la ra ğ a s ı Han (th e han o f the C h ie f E u n u ch ), and Pastırm acı (s e lle r o f canned m eat) Han (th e han whitch c h a in s ), and further o ff the Conqueror and is situated on the border o f the Mah- m ud-Paşa m arket-p lace. The w estern fa ç a d e o f the Bedesten is bordered by a colo nnaded street called afte r the T a k ye c ile r (b o n net s e lle rs ). O ppo site the gate o f the Bedesten the Z e n e ciler (se lle rs of wom en's clo thes) m ainstreet extends as fa r as Dua square, and it is intersected with the K a z a z la r (silk-m e rce rs) and B asm acılar (p rin t se lle rs) streets. The south fa ç a d e o f the Bedesten is bordered by a colo nnaded street called a fte r the K eseciler (purse s e lle r s ); p a ra lle l to it are the T e rzile r (ta ilo rs ) street, the K al- p a k cıla r-b a şı (c h ie f cap se lle r) m ainstreet, Debur- beğli street, and the Koltuk K a z a z la r (se lle rs o f old silk c lo th e s ); and p erp en d icu lar to it the K o la n c ıla r (b a n d se lle rs) street, opposite the Bedesten g ate, the G iila c street, and the Terzi başı (c h ie f ta ilo r) street. The K a lp a k ç ıla r m ainstreet extends from the N uri-O sm an iye G a te to the B a tp a za r (m a rk et o f old clo thes) G a te ; it is the longest street in the B a z a r; on that street are situated the two interior gates of the K ürkcıler (fu rrie rs ) m arket, the Serguccu (plum et se lle rs) H an, the Ç arşı Kapu (B a z a r G a te ) street, and the gate o f Yolgeçen (t ra v e lle r's ) H an . O utside those precincts, on the south o f the K a lp a k ç ıla r street, is the K ürkciler (fu rrie rs ) m arket; it has tw o gates of w hich one opens on the T avu k p a z a r ( poultry m arket) also ca lle d Eski Esir P aza rı (th e old sla v e m a rk e t), İskender B oğ azı.
A t the Ç arşı G a te and the fountain round the corner begins a long, n arro w street, w hich at d ifferen t places bears diffe re n t nam es, v iz . S ip ah i A ğ a sı (co m m ander o f the c a v a lr y ) , K a ra c a la r ( d e e r ) , Dua m ey danı (p ra y e r s q u a re ), Y a ğ lık ç ıla r (h a n d k e rc h ie f s e l le r s ), Ö rücüler (p la it e r s ), and fin a lly lea d s to M er ca n . On the w est o f th at street are the m arkets of the Y o rg a n c ıla r ( u p ho sterers) , Fesçiler (fe z s e lle rs ), and H a sırcıla r (m a t s e lle rs ). In the fe z se lle rs' m arket are the streets o f Emir Şah , Alem Ş ah , Tuğ cular (crest s e lle rs ), Püskülcüler (ta sse l s e lle r s ), K avu kcu la r (h a t t e r s ), and Hacı (P ilg rim ) H asan . On the Fesçiler m ainstreet, w hich lead s to the Dua G a te , is the Bodrum (c a v e ) H an . Three gates open on the Ç a d ır c ıla r (te n t se lle rs) m ainstreet and the Bat p a z a r
(m a rk et o f old c lo th e s ); the largest is ca lle d the B a tp a za r G a te , and the sm aller ones Dua G a te and Koltuk G a te resp e ctive ly. Seven streets lead from the Y o rg a n c ıla r (u p h o lste re rs) m arket either to the
Fez-Kapalı Çarşıda Bedestene griden sokak Une des avenues du Grand Bazar
çile r m ainstreet or to the Y a ğ lık ç ıla r (h a n d k e rc h ie f se lle rs) street, and th ey b ear the nam es o f Yarım T aş ( h a lf sto ne) H an , G e lin c ik ( p o p p y ), M ütevelli (tru s te e ), Kuyulu (w ith a w e l l ) , Y e şild ire k (g re en p illa r ) , Sarı H acı H asan (th e blond pilgrim H a s a n ), and G a n i Ç e le b i. Behind those a re the streets o f A li Paşa H an and Lu tfu llah , w hich lea d to the Ç a d ırc ıla r (ten t se lle rs) m ainstreet and four more h an s, v iz . A li P aşa H an , Yarım Taş H an , C am ili Han (th e han w ith a m o sq u e ), H atib (p re a c h e r's) H an , and S a rra f (b a n k e r’s) H an . The three streets bearing the names o f respectively Lu tfu llah, Hacı M uhsin, and M ekteb (sc h o o l) a ll com m unicate with an o ther street w hich leads to the Tent s e lle r’s m arket, w h e re th ere is a p lace c a lle d N öbet Y e ri (w a tch p la c e ), in fro n t o f the g ate o f the Cebeci (a rm o u re r’s) H an .
The H a k k â k la r (e n g ra v e r’s) m arket extends lo n g itu d in a lly betw een a g a te facin g the B a y a zid İm aret ( a kitchen fo r the distribution o f food to the po o r) and an o ther g a te opening on the T e n tse lle rs’ m arket. In the En g rave rs' m arket is a second n arro w street c a lle d the En g rave rs' b ack street.
The places enum erated ab o ve form the B a za r. In a document dated A .H . the B a za r is said to contain 2 bedestens, 4 3 9 9 shops, 2 1 9 5 rooms, one bath, 4 9 7 closets, 12 treasuries, one mosque, 10 mes- cids, 19 fountains (o f w hich two are şad irv an s or m onumental fo un tain s, and one a se b il, i. e. furnished with drinking c u p s ), 8 w ells with pumps, one m auso leum, 73 porticos, 24 hans, and one school.
The above statistic is according to the limits of the B a za r at th at period, when the gates o f the B a za r w ere the Ç a d ırc ıla r G a te at B a k ırc ıla r; B a y a z ıd , K ö k çüler, Parm ak, and Ç arşı G a te s at P arm a kk ap u ; the Kürkçüler G a te with stairs, lead ing to İskender B o ğ azı; the second K ürkcıler G a te , the Nuri O sm aniye G a te , and the K a lç a c ıla r G a te opening on the T a v u k p a za ri or Eski Esir P a z a rı; the A y n a c ıla r, Acı Çeşm e, and M ercan G a te s opening on the Ö rücüler (p la ite r s ') b ath ; the B ay azıd G a te opening on the S a h h a f P a z a rı, also called İm aret G a te .
A t present the B a za r is reduced in exte n t. A fte r the e arthq uake o f 1894 the Ç a d ırc ıla r G a te , and after that the Kürkçüler G a te d isap p e are d . The intervening space w as turned into an open street; the interior gates known under the names o f D ua, B a tp a za ri, Ko ltuk, and Y o rg a n c ıla r, w hich opened on the Bat p a z a rı (m a rk et o f old clo thes) w ere used as e xterio r g a te s; Lutfullah street w as com pletely dem olished, and Lutfullah G a te closed. In that region the S arn ıçlı H an (th e han with a c is te rn ), the P a ça v ra cı (ra g se lle rs’ ) H an , the A li P aşa H an, and C am ili H an (the han with a m osque) w ere left outside the precincts o f the B a z a r. O ne gate o f Yolgeçen (tra v e lle rs ’ ) Han also rem ained outside.
The B a za r consists entirely o f vau lted shops of one story o n ly, excepting the shops in the Fu rriers’ m arket, w hich are tw o -storied . At the T a k ye cile r (b o n n e t se lle rs) and A y n a c ıla r (m irro r se lle rs) m ar kets there are one or tw o shops to which a story has been a d d e d , and also in some places a story has been built on the roof o f the B a z a r. Several shops have m arble columns and m arble fire -p lace s with inscriptions. O ne o f those shops is on the K ö seleciler (so le -le a th e r se lle rs) street, and an o ther betw een the shoem akers and bonnetm akers streets. The B a za r shops are built betw een the columns form ing the a r c a d e . A s the number o f shops w as limited and the dem and e xten sive, in order to meet the requirem ents o f tradesm en and shopmen the shops w ere divided in terio rly into sm all enclosures se p arate d by wooden p artitio n s. Most shops a re covered with o ne-arched v au lts, some shops consist o f a cell with a n arro w
Çarşı içinde <-ski çeşmelerden biri Une des vieilles fontaines du Grand Bazar door and receive the light from the dom e; in fron t of the fa ç a d e on the street side is a w ooden bench; the interior is used at present as a sto rag e and w a s used fo rm erly as a w orksho p.
Although w e know that the buildings o f the B aza r date from diverse periods beginning with the reign o f the Conqueror, and there are vario u s deeds o f trust of mortmain estates w e h ave fe w inscriptions to give us further light. The fo un tain near the M ercan G a te has an inscription dated A .H . 1 1 5 1 , and the fo untain at K a lp a k ç ıla r Başı has an inscription with a chro no gram . Those two inscriptions ind icates th at that part o f the B a z a r w a s built 2 9 0 ye a rs a fte r the C onqueror. The most im portant document I h ave discovered about the B a za r is the inform ation given in S ila h d a r ’s H isto ry, in the p art entitled N usretnam e, am ong the events of A .H . 1 1 1 3 . Acco rd ing to th at statem ent « a fire broke out around the Bedesten, a ll the roofs o f the shops w ere burned, and a huge q u an tity o f goods destroyed » (w h ich ind icates that the roofs w ere o f w o o d ), « an d when the S u ltan» (M u sta fa I I.) « h e a rd this he assem bled the G ra n d -V e zir and statem inisters in a co uncil, and it w as decided to rebuild the roofs o f the B a z a r with stone, and thus the environs of
Kapalı Çarşıda Muhallebici dükkânı Mouhallébidji dans le Grand Bazar
the Bedesten w as built a n e w » . Therefo re it is certain that the colo nnaded streets surrounding the Bedesten cannot be Byzantin e as some authors suppose, and that the stone vau lts o f the B a za r w ere built in A .H . 1113 ( A .D . 1 7 0 0 /1 7 0 1 ) . In some streets it is noticed th at the w a lls in the fa c a d e s o f the shops h ave been in terio rly reinforced and their thickness exten ded to one metre and a h a lf. It is pro b ab le that a fte r that fire and successive earthq uakes it w a s found prudent to reinforce the w a lls . Thus in the g reat e arthq uake th at broke out on Ju n e 10th 1894 m any im portant parts o f the B a za r w ere ruined and their w ere c a s u a l ties. Mahmud C e lâ led d in P a şa , then M inister o f Public W o rks, in com pliance with an ira d e (e d ic t) o f Sultan A bdu l Ham id II. undertook to rebuild im m ediately a ll the ruined p laces in the B a z a r; the streets w ere closed and rebuilt one a fte r the o th er; w hen one street w as com pleted it w a s opened to the public, the shops turned over to their o w ners, and the next street closed and reb u ilt; so th at in the couse o f eighteen months the B a za r w as co m p letely restored. The expenses w ere refunded by being p rop ortio nately divided am ong the shopow ners and levied on the rents. Thus the K a lp a k ç ıla r m ainstreet o f w hich one fourth w as dem olished, from the B a tp a za r G a te o n w ard s, the Je w e lle rs ’ street, and the environs o f the Ö rücüler G a te w ere ren ew ed .
In a fire w hich broke out at night on Septem ber 9th 1 9 4 3 , the streets a f Y a rim -T aş-H an , YEşil Tulum ba, M ütevelli, Sarı H asan , Ye şil-D ire k, A ğ a H an , C ebeci, and A li P aşa H an w ere com pletely burned. The iron used in renforcing the domes and vaults rep aired after the e a rth q u a ke o f 1 894 w as scorched and tw ist ed, w hich rendered the w ork o f restoration a ll the more d ifficu lt. A t present the vaults have been re paired with w ooden fram e w o rk, and are aw a itin g a thorough resto ratio n.
It is said th at there used to be 2 0 0 w ardens in the B a z a r, under one h e a d -w a rd e n . They kept w atch a t night in their respective districts; in the morning at the fixe d hour each w ard e n opened the gate to which he w a s ap p o in ted , and in the evening he closed the g a te , lea vin g a w icket open in order to m ake sure th at e ve ry one had le ft. Passages w ere m ade on the domes so th at the w atch could be kept there a lso . The domes o f the B a za r w ere e n tirely covered with lea d w hich has been g ra d u a lly rep la ce d b y tiles un til to -d a y the w h o le B a z a r, excepting the bedestens, is e n tirely covered w ith tiles.
Until the end o f last century the B a z a r w as the safe st and richest centre o f trad e in Ista n b u l; a ll kinds o f goods w e re found th ere ; m erchants and artisan s plied their tra d e in sa fe ty , and the O ttom an Bank opened a branch a t T a ra k ç ıla r in the vicin ity o f the B a z a r. But in consequence o f successive e arthq uakes m any shops d isap p e are d from the B a za r and w ere rep lace d by the shops a t Em inönü. T heft w as w elln ig h unknow n in the B a z a r. Je w e lle rs collected every e ve n ing the je w e lry w hich had been e xh ibited in their shops an d rem ained unsold, and conveyed them to their p rivate co ffers and safe s in the Bedesten, and the rich m erchants did the sam e w ith their d a ily g a in .
The o nly im portant case o f robb ery is the To- la y a n ca se . He w as a rich je w e lle r belonging to the C ath o lic creed , and he had a shop consisting o f two rooms, one inside the o ther. W h ile he w a s in his shop with his assistants a man w ho seemed to be a pur chaser entered the shop, and im m ediately th reaten ed them with a pistol w h ile fo u r or fiv e more gangsters entered the shop, and some w atch ed the iron door and other robbed a ll the je w e lry in the big safe w hich w a s o pen . Then they retreated one by one un til the la st, still th reaten ing the shopmen w ith his pisto l, cam e out o f the room , closed the iron door, locked it, and w a s gone. It is said th at the stolen goods am ounted to the v a lu e o f 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 gold lira s.
Efdalettin Tekiner
Kişisel Arşivlerde Istanbul Belleği Taha Toros Arşivi
