Eflatun'un "kurbaǧa" si si̇nope'den si̇nop'a: Kaynaklara göre si̇nop kenti̇ni̇n fi̇zi̇ksel geli̇şi̇mi̇

Abstract

It is known that cities founded by the first colonists in the Black Sea region were small, with adequate piece of land for a small community, and a simple and easily defended harbour enough to support a colony. Sinop is a fantastic settlement of the ancient period, located on an isthmus which links a peninsula with the mainland. The peninsula is lying eastwards, where its harbour facing south east is not only deep but also offers easy anchorage, as it is protected from the northwestern, north and east winds. This unique location offered Sinop the label of a town having the only natural harbour in the Black Sea region of Turkey. The city has been open to settlement since the first colonist era. And was continuously reconstructed. This study is an attempt to read traces of different periods and eras, and different socio-cultural layers through the changing physical structure of the city. This aim in mind, physical structure of the city in Ancient, Byzantine, Seljuk, Beylics and Ottoman periods is studied and revealed, resting on the accounts of documentation in the state archives through the Şer'iyye Register, Tax Register, state annuals, travel books, visual documents, and accont on the monumental buildings. Visual analysis is performed with the help of city maps, urban development plans, and photographic registers, which yield much information about the development of the districts of the city, its buildings and monuments, and finally its districts and neighbourhoods.