مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - Effects of Socio-Economic Changes in Communities on the Settlement Pattern in Izmir during the Ottoman Period

Abstract :

Izmir was one of the important trade centres during the Ottoman period. Due to its trade capacity, the city was an attractive and inviting settlement for people with different religious and national backgrounds, from the Middle East to the Western Europe. As a result of this trend, since the end of the 16th century the city has become an area with a mixed population that consists of Turks, Greeks, Armenians and Jews. The traces of these different groups can be found in different scales of the urban space, ranging from “individual buildings” to “district scale”. However, it is known that the socioeconomic positions of the communities developed during the five centuries depending on the quality and quantity of the commerce and the state of the Empire. In the early periods, commercial activities in Izmir had a small-scale regional characteristic, especially responding the needs of Istanbul however since the beginning of 17th Century, the city started to become an important port in the Mediterranean. This study, focusing on the axis between the harbour and the Kadifekale (Pagos) in Izmir, deals with the reflexions of the settlement traditions of different groups and their changing socio-economic characteristics on the urban space.