A Review of the Streets and Gates of İstanbul Grand Bazaar
In this article, which is aimed to mention the gates and streets that are indispensable parts of the spatial development of the Istanbul Grand Bazaar, it is aimed to draw attention to the actual elements that are the main beneficiaries of the “closed” identity of the Grand Bazaar by including location, material and measurement details as well as a general analysis from the past to the present. The Grand Bazaar has resisted various disasters such as fire and earthquakes for centuries and reached the present day with many renovations and changes. With the decision of the Conservation Regional Board, it has entered into a new and comprehensive restoration proces to respond to today’s needs and to be freed from some illegal parts. After this restoration process, some settled changes will be included in the plan. In recent years, a preliminary project study was carried out by the district municipality in the region and various analyzes and reports were made in 2010 within the scope of this project. Although the Preliminary Project process was interrupted for a while due to legal reasons, as of the end of 2021, the renovation works are continuing rapidly. In this article, the analysis of the gates and covered streets that separates the Grand Bazaar from the commercial area it is in and that makes it a privileged structure, are mentioned. In addition, measurements and definitions that emerged as a result of on-site investigations and photographs taken before the last restoration are also included.
İstanbul Kapalıçarşı’nın Sokakları ve Kapıları Üzerine Bir İnceleme
İstanbul Kapalıçarşı’nın mekânsal gelişiminin vazgeçilmez bir parçası olan kapılar ve sokaklarından bahsedilmesi hedeflenen bu makalede, geçmişten günümüze genel bir analizin yanı sıra konum, malzeme, ölçü detaylarına da yer verilerek Kapalıçarşı’nın “kapalı” kimliğinin esas hak sahipleri olan yapıtaşlarına dikkat çekilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Yüzyıllar boyunca yangın, deprem gibi çeşitli afetlere karşı direnerek çok sayıda tadilat ve değişimle günümüze ulaşan Kapalıçarşı, Koruma Bölge Kurul kararı ile günümüz ihtiyaçlarına da cevap vermek adına ve zaman içerisinde oluşan bir kısım kaçak bölümlerden arınıp bir kısım yerleşmiş değişikliklerin de plana işlenebilmesi amacıyla yeni ve kapsamlı bir restorasyon sürecine girmiş, geçtiğimiz yıllarda ilçe belediyesi tarafından bölgede bir avan proje çalışması gerçekleştirilmiş ve bu proje kapsamında 2010 yılında çeşitli analizler ve raporlamalar yapılmıştır. Avan Proje süreci hukuki nedenlerle bir süre sekteye uğramışsa da 2021 yılı sonu itibari ile yenileme çalışmaları hızla sürdürülmektedir. Bu makalede Kapalıçarşı’yı parçası olduğu ticarî bölgeden ayrıştırarak onun ayrıcalıklı bir yapı olmasını sağlayan kapıları ve üstü örtülü sokakları hakkında yapılmış analizlere, yerinde incelemeler neticesi ortaya çıkan ölçümlere ve tanımlamalara değinilmiş, son restorasyon öncesine ait fotoğraflara yer verilmiştir.
The commercial areas are knowingly the most active organisms of a settlement. Especially the bazaars that host small-scale trade are the fastest growing and developing areas in a city because they consist of smaller units than other functions. For a building type to grow in the city, it needs a restricted or unrestricted space allocated for it and an organic or fictional orientation. In this sense, the transition areas between the building blocks, namely streets and main roads, are the most basic factors that serve the expansion. It is a known fact that the development and therefore the spread of spaces consisting of small units will not be possible without transition areas. For this reason, it is not possible to describe the definition of “bazaar” independently of its streets and main roads like the shops that make up it.
The wide bazaar areas, which have been covered over time, emerge as a holistic commercial space thanks to the streets and the gates that limit the area. The Istanbul Grand Bazaar which is discussed within the scope of the thesis is one of the covered bazaars named under this spatial structure. The streets and gates of the Grand Bazaar are the two basic elements that provide the “closed” identity to the bazaar. Therefore within the scope of the article, the streets and gates that make up the Bazaar structure, which started with the existence of bedestens, will be emphasized.
In Turkish cities, the main bazaar is gathered around the Bedesten-s, which we can consider as the center. The Istanbul Grand Bazaar was also developed around the Old Bedesten (Cevahir Bedesten) and the New Bedesten (Sandal Bedesten). For this reason, it would be correct to regard the bazaar structure, which is located between these two Bedesten-s with its shops and streets, as the first-period structures of the known bazaar.
When we look at the first period streets around Cevahir Bedesten and Sandal Bedesten dating back to the 15th century, it is seen that the streets were positioned approximately at right angles to each other and revealed a grid structure. This shows us that the bazaar extends eastward after the first construction point, that is, towards the Sandal Bedesten is within the framework of an aimed plan.
Contrary to the grid structuring between the two bedestens, a more organic street texture stands out as one goes to the west of the Cevahir Bedesten. Within this texture, the presence of two main axes extending in the east-west and north-south directions can also be observed.
Kalpakçılar Street, which lies on the east-west axis to the south of the Bazaar and is approximately 280m long, is the most important transportation axis of the bazaar, with its 6.50m width and 7m to 8m height. The street ends with the Nur-u Osmaniye Gate at the east end and with the Beyazıt Gate at the west end.
The secondary transportation axis of the Bazaar is the one that starts with Yağlıkçılar Street in the north and continues with Feraceciler, Sipahi and Çarşı Kapı Streets as it moves south. This axis is also the axis that starts from Örücüler Gate outside the Grand Bazaar and continues with Uzun Çarşı Street, which goes towards Eminönü, forming the Uzun Bazaar, from which it is named. It is stated in the sources that this line was Makros Embolos, the backbone of the Bazaar during Byzantine times. When the location of the Bedestens located in the area formed by the intersection of these two lines is examined, it can be thought that this place was determined as the core of the commercial area and that the trade area was restricted by the old settled routes of the city to prevent it from spreading towards the palace district and the residential area.
Apart from the Cevahir and Sandal Bedestens, which were the center of the Grand Bazaar until the 18th century, it is known that the Bazaar consists of wooden shops on both sides of the streets and arasta bazaars where guilds were located. Within the scope of the renovation plans to be carried out after the fire that was effective in the region in 1701, it was decided to masonry the Bazaar, which had undergone many fires and renovations repeatedly until this period, in order to make it resistant to fires. It is stated in the sources that in addition to the masonry of wooden shops within the scope of this repair, the streets between the shops were covered with vaulted covers. After this date, the old bazaar which is mainly consisting of two Bedestens, shops, inns, rooms called cells, but also includes fountains, prayer rooms, wells, fountains, a public fountain, tomb, school and baths has transformed into the Grand Bazaar, a new integrated structure of 30.7 hectares. This place had already a new identity with its covered streets and its Gates had separated it from the surrounding trade areas.
There are 61 streets in the Grand Bazaar, differing in length and width, which are all covered and named according to artisan groups such as Kalpakçılar (Calpack Sellers), Kuyumcular (Jewelers), Aynacılar (Mirror Sellers), Fesçiler (Fez Sellers) that are believed to give the Bazaar its essential “closed” identity. As a result of the covering of a formed tissue, the top covers of these streets also differ from each other. This natural texture, which emerges as a result of both material and elevation differences, is one of the most prominent features that saves it from the monotony in appearance.
The gates at the places where aforementioned streets reach the borders of the Grand Bazaar and at the exits of the inns inside the bazaar are other important elements that give the Bazaar its ‘closed’ identity. With a total of 21 gates, the Grand Bazaar is separated from the surrounding buildings and is located in its own private and sheltered area. While some of these gates are more flamboyant as they are in important entrances, others are very modest.
