Büyükada, its summer residences, and the bourgeois Ottoman interior at the turn of the Twentieth century


Tezin Türü: Doktora

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Mimarlık Fakültesi, Mimarlık Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2015

Öğrenci: ZEYNEP CEYLANLI

Danışman: AYŞE BELGİN ÖZKAYA

Özet:

This dissertation examines the social history of Büyükada specifically from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century by looking at the interiors of summer residences through new sources on Büyükada. The changes in the economic, political, and social structure of the Ottoman capitalare put forth in order to comprehend the social characteristics of Büyükada as a summer resort close to Istanbul. As the main archival sources of this dissertation, the Ottoman Archives enriches the narrative on Büyükada published up to this time; Istanbul Provincial Newspaper announces information about the owners, size, location and price of the houses in the island, enabling the analyses on the urban, spatial, and social characteristics of Büyükada, whereas the Raymund Map marks the houses on the island demonstrating their construction material and position in the site; the plans from the Preservation Board display the spatial schemes of the houses; and the houses visited put forth the remnants of the bourgeois interior. The sources reveal that the Nizam district on the northwestern part of the island was inhabited by the wealthy section of the Ottoman society, where the ethnic diversity reflected the character of the Ottoman bourgeoisie. On the other hand, the central part of the island and its nearby neighborhoods were mainly resided by the people with lower income. Throughthis framework, the history of Büyükada and its bourgeois residents at the turn of the century are reassessed.