Eastern Mediterranean Urbanism by Suna Cagaptay
BATAS Review, 41.2, 2023
ISSN 1474-0125
For Alessandra Ricci 'What is the city? How did it come into existence? What processes does it fu... more For Alessandra Ricci 'What is the city? How did it come into existence? What processes does it further: what functions does it perform: what processes does it fulfill?' 1
Series preface viii eries pre ace and Umayyad Spain (Sam Ottewill-Soulsby), an Arabist and histor... more Series preface viii eries pre ace and Umayyad Spain (Sam Ottewill-Soulsby), an Arabist and historian of the medieval Middle East (Edward Zychowicz-Coghill), an archaeologist working on late antique and early Islamic Jordan and Egypt (Louise Blanke), an architectural historian exploring the transition from Byzantine to Ottoman (Suna a aptay), a late antique historian who has turned her attention to Ottoman Greece (Elizabeth Key Fowden), a PhD student with a background in Classics studying urban planning in nineteenth-and early twentieth-century Italy (Sofia Greaves) and a principal investigator specializing in Roman social history and urban archaeology in Italy (Andrew Wallace-Hadrill). Other Cambridge colleagues joined our discussions on a regular basis, notably Tom Langley, writing a PhD on ideas of the city in Greek Patristic writers, Professor Amira Bennison, a historian of the medieval Maghrib, especially its cities, Professor Rosamond McKitterick, a leading figure in the study of Carolingian France and papal Rome, and Professor Martin Millett, a Roman archaeologist with a longstanding interest in urbanism. We benefited from the support and advice of the members of our Advisory Committee, both in Cambridge (in addition to the above named, Cyprian Broodbank, Robin Cormack, Garth Fowden, Alessandro Launaro, Robin Osborne and John Patterson) and beyond-Luuk de Ligt (Leiden), i dem Kafescio lu (Istanbul), Ray Laurence (Sydney), Keith Lilley (Belfast) and from Oxford, Josephine Quinn, Bryan Ward-Perkins and Chris Wickham. We also enjoyed the invaluable support of two administrators, Nigel Thompson of the Classics Faculty and Beth Clark, whose calm efficiency facilitated conferences and seminars, enabled foreign travel and smoothed contact with the bureaucracies at both ends. We invited many scholars, from Cambridge or further afield, to share their knowledge with us at our weekly seminars. We also organised one-day workshops, including one on the Roman and Islamic city in North Africa and one on Cities and Citizenship after antiquity (that led to an l as special issue) 1 , as well a panel for the 2018 Leeds International Medieval congress on 'Memory' and two three-day conferences, one in Istanbul and one in Rome. The last three underlie the three volumes in the present series. In each of those conferences, the members of our group contributed, but we knew that to cover the ground we needed to bring in international colleagues. The three volumes that constitute the present series are far from exhausting the output of the project, and each of us has papers and monographs in the pipeline or already out. Each of the three volumes has its own set of questions, but together they build up an overriding collective agenda of exploring how the cities of the Greek and Roman past, and such ideas of the city that were articulated around them, have impacted on the city and the idea of the city in later periods.
How many a city We have destroyed in its evildoing, and now it is fallen down upon its turrets! H... more How many a city We have destroyed in its evildoing, and now it is fallen down upon its turrets! How many a ruined well, a tall palace! Qur'an 22.45 It is not quite known: Is it the work of humans for jinn to live in or the work of jinn for humans? al-Buḥturī, Īwān Kisrā Ruins that don't take you back to the past, but coexist on the same plane as buildings still living. Nikos Gabriel Pentzikis, 'Thessaloniki and life' Time is made to curl up end to end, so that distance draws near and the past becomes present; depth disappears in a flattening effect that brings up to the surface what once lay buried. Marina Warner, 'Freud's couch: A case history'
Bursa and Byzantine-Ottoman overlaps by Suna Cagaptay
The First Capital of the Ottoman Empire: The Religious, Architectural, and Social History of Bursa, 2020
Conquered in 1326, Bursa, known to the Byzantines as Prousa, served as the first capital of the O... more Conquered in 1326, Bursa, known to the Byzantines as Prousa, served as the first capital of the Ottoman Empire. It retained its spiritual and commercial importance even after Edirne (Adrianople) in Thrace, and later Constantinople (Istanbul), functioned as Ottoman capitals. Yet, to date, no comprehensive study has been published on the city’s role as the inaugural center of a great empire. In works by art and architectural historians, the city has often been portrayed as having a small or insignificant pre-Ottoman past, as if the Ottomans created the city from scratch. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. In this book, rooted in the author’s archaeological experience, Suna Çağaptay tells the story of the transition from a Byzantine Christian city to an Islamic Ottoman one, positing that Bursa was a multi-faith capital where we can see the religious plurality and modernity of the Ottoman world. The encounter between local and incoming forms, as this book shows, created a synthesis filled with nuance, texture, and meaning. Indeed, when one looks more closely and recognizes that the contributions of the past do not threaten the authenticity of the present, a richer and more accurate narrative of the city and its Ottoman accommodation emerges.
Bursa Bey Sarayı Sempozyum Kitabı, Bursa Büyükşehir Belediyesi, 2021
Fetih Öncesi Osmanlı Sanatı ve Mimarisi, edited by Yıldıray Özbek and Ayşe Budak, 2020
Bu kitap ve kitabın özgün özellikleri tamamen Nüve Kültür Merkezi'ne aittir. Hiçbir şekilde takli... more Bu kitap ve kitabın özgün özellikleri tamamen Nüve Kültür Merkezi'ne aittir. Hiçbir şekilde taklit edilemez. Yayınevinin izni olmadan kısmen ya da tamamen kopyalanamaz, çoğaltılamaz. Nüve Kültür Merkezi hukukî sorumluluk ve takibat hakkını saklı tutar. Bu kitabın yazarları, eserin kendi orijinal yaratımları olduğunu ve eserde dile getirilen tüm görüşlerin kendilerine ait olduğunu, bundan dolayı kendilerinden başka kimsenin sorumlu tutulamayacağını kabul ederler. Kitapta yer alan bölümlerin sorumluluğu yazarlarına aittir.
represents one of the richest legacies of early Ottoman architecture, the city's urban fabric has... more represents one of the richest legacies of early Ottoman architecture, the city's urban fabric has suffered from several fi res and earthquakes that resulted in heavy restorations and remodellings. The fi rst aim of this paper is to discuss the textual and visual evidence for the built environment in the early fourteenth century and, second, to offer commentary on the Ottoman attitude toward Byzantine architecture in an effort to unearth the Byzantine substrata of Ottoman Bursa. In the service of the latter goal, this article debunks the Ottoman-centric views. With the aid of drawings of Bursa's upper city that predate the 1855 earthquake we may begin to visualize a city far less uniform in character, in which the Byzantine legacy both endured and informed the construction and urban design practices of the ascendant Ottomans.
The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Third Edition
Palaiologan Constantinople by Suna Cagaptay
Entelektüel Bir Osmanlı Padişahı Fatih Sultan Mehmed (der.) Haşim Şahin (Istanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi Yayınları), 2022
VIII. M kha l, kamu b nalarını, h podromları... dolup taşan b r pazar yer n , mahkemeler , sokakl... more VIII. M kha l, kamu b nalarını, h podromları... dolup taşan b r pazar yer n , mahkemeler , sokakları, stoaları, çok sayıda hamamı ve her yerde yaşlılık evler n güzelleşt rd. 7 Manuel Holobolos B zans İmparatoru VIII. M kha l Pala ologos (1261-1282), 1261 yılında IV. Haçlı Sefer dares nde bulunan Konstant nopol s kent n yen den hâk m yet altına alır. II. Theodoros Laskar s' n 1258' de İzn k'te ölümü üzer ne, M kha l, tahtın yasal vâr s sek z yaşındak IV. M kha l' n vesayet n ele geç r r, gözler ne m l çek p onu kör eder ve b r manastıra yollar. Ardından 15 Ağustos 1261 yılında Konstant nopol s' e g r ş n yapar. M kha l' n selef B zans hükümdarlarının da yaptığı g b , Konstant nopol s' e Yed kule surlarında bugün dah bütün ht şamıyla gördüğümüz Altın Kapı' dan g r p Büyük Saray ve Ayasofya'ya gelerek daha öncek dönemlerde uygulanan zafer tören alayı geleneğ n devam ett r r. Bu g r ş tören yle, 1453 Osmanlı feth ne kadar sürecek, Pala ologos Hanedanlığı olarak b l nen dönem resmen başlamış olur. VIII. M kha l' n karşısındak manzara pek parlak değ ld r. Haçlı şgal ndek kent ell yed yıl süren yağma, st la ve hmalden sonra harap durumdadır (Har ta 1). Hem M kha l hem de oğlu II. Andron kos (1282-1328) sur duvarlarının ç nde ve dışında konumlanan ve kent n 1204'ten öncek m mar dokusuna a t yapıları yen den onarmaya başlarlar. 8 Pala olo-7 A. M. Talbot, "The Restorat on of Constant nople under M chael VIII", Dumbarton Oaks Papers 47, 1993, s. 253'ten alıntılanmıştır. 8 Talbot, "The Restorat on of Constant nople under M chael VIII", s. 243-261; agm., "Bu ld ng Act v ty n Constant nople under gos Hanedanlığı'nın bu g r ş m , kent n s yas ve askerî alanda olduğu kadar sanat ve m marlıkta da çağ atladığı 12. yüzyılın ünlü Komnenos Hanedanlığı'nın hükümdarlarının dönem n yâd etmek olarak yorumlanır. 9 Ayasofya, d kkatl b r onarımdan geçer. Vaaz kürsüsü, aps s önündek sunak ve d ğer mob lyalar onarılır. Galer katında güney kısımdak duvara anıtsal Dees s (Meryem Ana ve Vaft zc Yahya'nın İsa' dan şefaat d lemes anı) kent n Haçlı st lasından kurtulmasının b r n şanes olarak yaptırılır. 10 Ayakta kalan manastır k l seler onarılır. Ar stokrat a leler, aralarında, daha önceden nşa ed len orta B zans dönem manastır k l seler , Chora (Kar ye) ve Pammakar stos'un (Feth ye), Per bleptos (Sulu Manastır), Myrela on (Bodrum) ve Konstant nos L bos (Fenar İsa) g b yapıların yanı başına gömü şapeller veya yen k l seler eklen r. İmparator ve a les n n yaşaması ve devlet dares ç n, günümüzde Ed rnekapı'da konumlanan ve lk olarak Komnenos dönem nde (1081-1185) nşa ed len Blakherna Sarayı'na (Ayvansaray) Andron kos II: The Role of Women Patrons n the Construct on and Restorat on of Monaster es", Byzant ne Constant nople: Monuments, Topography and Everyday Life (der.
Laskarid art, architecture, and urbanism by Suna Cagaptay
İZNİK / NICAEA ON ITS WAY TO BECOME UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE, Ed. Şahin Kılıç and Kutlu Akalın (Bursa: Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Publications, 2000). Also appeared in Turkish, in the same volume, titled “Ertelenmiş Bir Diyalog: Laskaris Nicaea’sına Genel Bir Bakış, p. 623-634., 2020
IDENTITY AND THE OTHER IN BYZANTIUM PAPERS FROM THE FOURTH INTERNATIONAL SEVGİ GÖNÜL BYZANTINE STUDIES SYMPOSIUM, EDITED BY IVANA JEVTIC AND KORAY DURAK, 2019
CSCO Corpus scriptorium christianorum orientalium CTh Theodosiani libri XVI cum constitutionibus ... more CSCO Corpus scriptorium christianorum orientalium CTh Theodosiani libri XVI cum constitutionibus Sirmondianis et leges novellae ad Theodosianum pertinentes, ed. Th. Mommsen and P. M. Meyer (Berlin, 1905) DOP Dumbarton Oaks Papers ΔΧΑΕ Δελτίον τῆς Χριστιανικῆς ἀρχαιολογικῆς ἑταιρείας IDENTITY AND THE OTHER IN BYZANTIUM x ΕΕΒΣ Epeteris Hetaireias Byzantinon Spoudon EI 2 Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2 nd ed. (Leiden; London, 1960-) GCS Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten [drei] Jahrhunderte GRBS Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies HTR Harvard Theological Review
Proceedings of the International Sevgi Gönül Memorial Symposium on Byzantine Studies, 2010, 357-363, Istanbul., 2010
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Eastern Mediterranean Urbanism by Suna Cagaptay
Bursa and Byzantine-Ottoman overlaps by Suna Cagaptay
Palaiologan Constantinople by Suna Cagaptay
Laskarid art, architecture, and urbanism by Suna Cagaptay
In an architectural critique piece appearing in the Guardian in 2002, Patrick Glancey commented on British mosques failing to demonstrate any architectural merit, “often being no more than brick boxes with minarets and domes applied like afterthoughts”. He asked, “Why are there no great British mosques?” (Glancey, 2002). David Marks and Julia Barfield of Marks Barfield Architects, who designed the London Eye as well as several other large-scale urban projects, have now created a beautiful, approachable and eco-friendly mosque in Cambridge in collaboration with Prof. Timothy Winter, also known as Abdul Hakim Murad, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Cambridge Mosque Committee. In this article, I examine the building’s design philosophy from the perspective of its architects and its patron. Inaugurated on March 15, 2020 in Cambridge, United Kingdom, the mosque attracted a great attention in print and online media. Reviewing its architectural characteristics and sustainable features, this piece builds on those interpretations by contextualizing the architectural, cultural and historical environment in which it was built.
20-23 August 2019
Bahçeşehir University,
Beşiktaş, İstanbul Turkey
Co-Convenors Suna Çağaptay and Aslıhan Akışık
In addition to the problem of how historical layers are related, or disconnected, the image of the palimpsest raises another difficulty that this conference aims to tackle, namely the privileging of the ‘original’. In the case of the textual palimpsest, what is found underneath the visible layer is, in most cases, what most excites scholars. The parallel problem with cities is obvious since the pursuit of the ‘original’ underneath medieval, early modern and contemporary cities has long been the focus of antiquarian, archaeological and historical interest. This fixation on the original and the classical is inseparably fused with European conceptions of antiquity in which the subsequent periods are characterized by decline and ignorance.
In contrast to this tendency, our Impact of the Ancient City Project three-day conference considers the evolutions of both the material and the conceptual city. To facilitate discussion across diverse city case studies, we ask participants to keep in mind fundamental questions of urban development that have been more frequently discussed, such as: Do the central open spaces remain the same after the Greco-Roman period? How are they transformed? How does the relationship between public and private space develop? Do the areas of commercial interaction remain the same? How are neighbourhoods organized, and how do they articulate links between individual households and the broader city fabric? What happens to major public buildings such as gymnasia, theatres or baths? How do processional ways reflect changing social and political needs? How are the old centres of cult transformed by religious conflict and change while remaining in the same locations?
We ask participants also to consider: How was the ancient city imagined at different times and how were the physical remains of the past re-formulated to fit this image? Do we, in fact, find examples when the urban past has been scraped away and forgotten in order to start afresh, as in the case of the textual palimpsest? How best to interpret the frequent phenomenon of adjacent developments, especially in the case of the Arabic Islamic city? Is it more useful to think in terms of turning one’s back on the past than transforming it? What features were cultivated in the Ottoman city that linked the pre-Ottoman past with the present, or could best be understood as a conscious un-linking?
The tangible traces of the Greco-Roman city were made meaningful through diverse ways of reflecting on the past, many of which diverge widely from modern modes of identification and signification. For this reason, the sessions of case studies follow initial papers on the urban imagination in four broad cultural spheres that have animated the Eastern Mediterranean over time: Arabic, Byzantine, Frankish and Ottoman.
The Impact of the Ancient City is a five-year, ERC-funded research project based at the University of Cambridge. Our first major conference, Cities as palimpsests? Urban evolutions in the Eastern Mediterranean, to be held in collaboration with Bahçeşehir University in Istanbul in May 2019.
Elizabeth Key Fowden, Suna Çağaptay, Louise Blanke, Edward Zychowicz-Coghill, and Beth Clark (Co-organisers)
In Istanbul, each type of food claims a neighborhood and functions like a geographic or ethnic marker. Your cravings take you to different districts: baby cucumbers in Çengelköy, yogurt in Kanlıca, simit (sesame-seeded bread rings or bagels) in Galata, or the tripe soup and a variety of offal stews in Beykoz. Similarly, if you are dreaming about a steaming hot white bean casserole, you go to Süleymaniye; for heart and throat sweetbreads, your neighborhood is Sütlüce. The best salted and dried Black Sea mackerel can be found in Pera, and finally, for boza, a semi-fermented wheat-based drink, one has to go to Vefa.