The Ottoman bedestens in Greece

Abstract

This paper focuses on the Ottoman bedestens in Greece, by considering the analysis and interpretation of the related texts in the archives and historic references. Evliyâ Çelebi provides a wealth of data regarding the Ottoman bedestens, along with their functions, administrative system and staff. This information underlines that the bedestens were semi-official buildings and were subject to State control and management, reflecting its commercial and economic policy. This paper discusses the importance of the bedesten as a new architectural creation in the centre of the Ottoman city, and its importance in reorganising and distinguishing the layout of the core of some significant Ottoman cities. As a result, the historic Ottoman cities could be classified into cities including a bedesten and others that didn’t. The study shows the relation between the presence of the bedesten in a city and its commercial and economic value considering the city’s site. This is obvious for cities located on main commercial roads. Along the Via Egnatia, there are cities which have bedestens in Greece. The Ottoman bedestens found in Greece were accounted for, focusing on the surviving examples. The study concludes that the Ottoman bedesten flourished from architecture and function point of view during the years of Sultan Mehmed II (1451-1481). This study proves that the present-day bedesten in the city of Serres is not the original one described by Evliyâ Çelebi, but it is a later reconstruction. The bedesten of Larissa was also dated in the light of the waqf (vakıf) document of the founder Hacı Ömer Bey, the son of Hacı Turhan to the years before 889 H/ 1484 CE.