Traditional Building Materials Production in 19^th Century Istanbul: Preferences in Housing Construction in Light of Ottoman Archival Documents

ABSTRACT

In Istanbul’s poorly surviving 19^th century housing heritage, brick masonry and timber-clad, unfilled timber-frame are the most common construction techniques. However, before the 19^th century, timber-frame filled with adobe or brick (hımış) was common in Istanbul residences. In the background of this change are the period’s political, economic, and social dynamics. One of these dynamics is related to the production and supply of building materials. This study traces the possibilities and restrictions experienced in the production process of traditional building materials during the 19^th century through the data (Republic of Turkey Presidential State Archives’ documents, historical descriptions, photographs, etc.) obtained from archival research. The preferences in the use of materials in housing construction arising from the issues such as the difficulties in supplying materials in the reconstruction processes, the transition to industrial production, imported building materials into the domestic market, etc., are examined under the headings of three traditional building materials (timber, stone, brick). Historic maps are also used to illustrate how the prevailing choices affected the city’s urban fabric.

KEYWORDS:

• Housing heritage
• Istanbul houses
• masonry houses
• timber houses
• traditional construction techniques

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Republic of Turkey Presidential State Archives (BOA) Documents

BOA, AE.SABH.I. 26.2034 – June 30^th, 1784 – Official document regarding the inability to supply bush as fuel to the twenty lime kilns in the Bosphorus.

BOA, AE.SABH.I. 30.2265 – November 13^th, 1784 – Official letter regarding the sending of timber under the control of officials from Kocaeli due to the big fire in Istanbul.

BOA, AE.SABH.I. 41.3008 – June 7^th, 1783 – Appointment of an official named Mehmet to control the transport of timber from the coastal areas between Boğazhisarı and Bodrum to Istanbul.

BOA, AE.SMST.III. 235.18611 – May 6^th, 1769 – Official letter regarding the faulty dimensions of the bricks produced around Hasköy.

BOA, A.}DVN.NMH. 11.12 – September 16^th, 1860 – Official letter authorizing two French merchants to manufacture hollow bricks.

BOA, A.}MKT.MHM. 466.12 – October 9^th, 1873 – Concession to Monsieur Fernandez to use the Hoffman kiln.

BOA, A.}MKT.MHM. 347.36 – December 29^th, 1865 – Decision on the establishment of a commission to oversee the reconstruction of wooden structures damaged in the great fire in Istanbul in masonry.

BOA, A.MKT.MVL. 65.29 – August 24^th, 1853 – Official letter stating that burning coal instead of bushes in lime kilns cause air pollution.

BOA, BEO. 265.19867 – August 26^th, 1893 – Official letter on the ban on the use of dynamite in the quarries on the Prince Islands.

BOA, BEO. 542.40611 – December 29^th, 1894 – A petition for a license request to open a quarry near Menekşe Stream in Alibeyköy.

BOA, BEO. 979.73405 – July 18^th, 1897 – Official letter of the Ministry of Forestry and Mines regarding the operation of the quarries in the Prince Islands to meet the needs of the dwellings only.

BOA, BEO. 3720.278940 – March 17^th, 1910 – A letter of the Ministry of Interior Affairs on the preparation of the zoning plan for the Stone Quarry in Nişantaşı, Teşvikiye Neighborhood to be converted into a residential area.

BOA, C.BLD. 106.5278 – March 4^th, 1840 – Official letter to activate all lime kilns in Bosphorus.

BOA, A.} MKT. 21.46 – January 9^th, 1845 – Draft law regarding the raised requests of the lime producers due to the high cost of lime production.

BOA, C.BLD. 5.214 – August 12^th, 1751 – Official letter containing the areas where lime is produced around Istanbul.

BOA, C.BLD. 14.663 – August 29^th, 1759 – The shortage of supply due to the high prices of lime by the workshops in the areas where lime is produced in Istanbul.

BOA, C.BLD. 26.1265 – November 19^th 1789 – The decision of the lime producers in the Bosphorus to sell lime at low prices.

BOA, C.BLD. 72.3576 – January 16^th, 1826 – Official document regarding the pricing of the transportation of black stones extracted from the quarries in the Bosphorus.

BOA, C.BLD. 118.5852 – September 6^th, 1784 – Official letter to ensure that a large amount of timber is sent due to the great fire in Istanbul.

BOA, C.BLD. 110.5481 – April 3^th, 1783 – Letter in response to an order to send large quantities of timber to Istanbul due to the great fire in Istanbul.

BOA, DH.MKT. 440.26 – October 10^th, 1895 – Complaint letter from the timber tradesmen regarding the inability to sell the local timbers sent to Istanbul from the Black Sea coast due to the cheaper imported timbers.

BOA, DH.MKT. 1693.65 – January 29^th, 1890 – Official article about the quarries in the Sular region of Sarıyer.

BOA, DH.MKT. 01945. 91 – May 8^th, 1892 – Official letter for the construction of a large number of barracks for the workers to be employed in the quarries in Silahtarağa.

BOA, D.BŞM.d. 10,445 – September 7^th, 1837 – Official notebook showing the production amounts of various lime quarries in Istanbul.

BOA, D.BŞM.d. 09114 – September 8^th, 1826 – Official notebook showing the records of rubble stones unearthed from the Bosphorus.

BOA, HAT. 277.16260 – April 2^th, 1813 – Official letter regarding the inability of poor people to obtain lumber due to the high hikes made by the Iznikmid timber mültezims.

BOA, HAT. 488.23975 – April 28^th, 1835 – Decision to prepare a law on the construction of buildings to be protected from burning in various districts of Istanbul.

BOA, HAT. 489.24012 – April 28^th, 1835 – Decision on determining the price twice a year according to the size and type of timber to be brought in Kocaeli and its surroundings.

BOA, HAT. 594.29098 – September 29^th, 1825 – Appointment of a minister to control the timber business upon the applications of the timber tradesmen.

BOA, HR.MKT. 47.80 – August 19^th, 1852 – Official letter granting license to the Austrian trader Kostantin Peroşodan to export lime.

BOA, HR.MKT. 245.32 – July 7^th, 1858 – Official letter regarding giving a license to a British citizen William Ravos (?) to open a stone quarry in Çengelköy.

BOA, HR.MKT. 431.3 11.10.1279 – April 1^st, 1863 – Official correspondence regarding a quarry in Sarıyer.

BOA, HR.SFR. 4.433.5. – March 13^th, 1888 – Ottoman stone quarries law

BOA, HR.TH. 97.56 – March 16^th, 1890 – Official letter about the lack of licenses for the quarries in Sarıyer, which are operated by Austro-Hungarian citizens.

BOA, HR.TH. 196.8 – June 22^th, 1897 – The request from the French embassy regarding the stone quarries in the Prince Islands.

BOA, HR.TO. 430.15 – August 25^th, 1858 – License request to build a brick factory in Kadıköy.

BOA, İ.MMS. 29.1240 – September 26^th, 1864 – License for the establishment of a timber factory in Adapazarı.

BOA, İ.MVL. 15.233 – January 17^th, 1841 – License to open a brick factory in Büyükdere on the Bosphorus.

BOA, İ.MVL.554.24866. – June 5^th, 1866 – Decision on the abolition of brick taxes for houses to be built as masonry in fire-suffered areas in Istanbul.

BOA, MVL. 1033.43 – May 20^th, 1866 – Assignment of brick manufacturers in Kağıthane to meet the brick needs of masonry houses to be built in fire-suffered areas.

BOA, Y.EE. 29.146 – October 28^th, 1870 – Agreement signed between Monsieur Baron Hirsch and the Ottoman state.

Notes

¹ Ironically, among the houses dated to the end of the 19^th and the beginning of the 20^th centuries, those with timber-clad and unfilled timber-frame are defined as “traditional Istanbul houses”, while masonry houses dating to the same period are not. For some studies on “traditional Istanbul houses”, see Acar (2017); Acar and Mazlum 2016; Bachmann (2008); Bachmann (2015).

² The main purpose of these maps, prepared by Jacques Pervititch, between 1922–1945, on behalf of the Turkish Insurers Center, was to make a risk analysis of the residential fabric against fires. On these maps, wooden buildings are shown in yellow and masonry buildings in red. (Jacques Pervititch Sigorta Haritalarında İstanbul [Istanbul in the insurance maps of Jacques Pervititch] 2000).