Bedesten Explained

A bedesten (variants: bezistan, bezisten, bedestan) is a type of covered market or market hall which was historically found in the cities of the Ottoman Empire. It was typically the central building of the commercial district of an Ottoman town or city, where the most important and precious goods (like gold and jewellery) were kept and sold. Its function was comparable or equivalent to that of a qaysariyya in other (usually Arabic-speaking) regions, though the architecture of the latter could be different and be similar to that of a bazaar with its own streets.[1]

Etymology

The origin of the word is from Persian بزازستان bazzāzestān, which means 'place of drapers'.[2] The word includes Persian suffix -istan.[3] Ottomans pronounced it as Bazzistan and Bedesten.[2]

History and function

The bedesten is a type of building that developed in the early Ottoman architecture of the 15th century.[4] Bedestens originally began as a place to house fabric and textile sellers but eventually more precious goods were stored here. As this type of building was more secure and could be locked at night, it became the place where the most important goods (e.g. gold and jewellery) were stored, protected, regulated, and sold.[5] Besides the trading of jewellery and textiles, slaves were also sold in bedestens.[6]

Expert merchants in bedestans also assisted in commercial disputes, and in some cases officials were employed here to carry out similar regulatory duties. Waqf agreements (inalienable trusts in Islamic law) governed the function and upkeep of the bedesten and could provide salaries for these employees. Tenants could even rent booths in the bedesten from these waqfs. The bedesten was such an important building that during Ottoman times cities were often classified under two categories: cities with a bedesten and cities without a bedesten.[7]

The first major bedestens were constructed in the capitals of the Ottoman Empire which served as economic hubs of the empire. The bedesten of Bursa was built in the late 14th century by Sultan Yildirim Bayezid I during his reign between 1389 and 1402.[8] The bedesten of Edirne was built by Sultan Mehmed I between 1413 and 1421. The first Bedesten in Istanbul, variously known as the Inner Bedesten (Iç Bedesten), Old Bedesten (Eski Bedesten or Bedesten-i Atik), or the Jewellers' Bedesten (Cevahir Bedesteni), was built on the orders of Sultan Mehmed II Fatih between 1456 and 1461, soon after his conquest of the city.[9] [10] A second bedesten, the Sandal Bedesten, also known as the Small Bedesten (Küçük Bedesten) or New Bedesten (Bedesten-i Cedid), was built by Mehmed II about a dozen years later.[11] These two bedestens formed the original core of Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, which grew around them over the following generations. Some Ottoman bedestens, including the ones in Bursa, Edirne, and Istanbul, are still operating as commercial centers today.

Architecture

Bedestens normally have a rectangular floor plan, with a main chamber inside covered by domes and walled-off from the outside except for designated doorways. Their design was derived in part from the design of Ottoman mosques.[12] Often there were shops on the outside perimeter, but the interior chamber was where the most important goods were stored and sold.

Examples of bedestens

Numerous bedestens were built during the Ottoman Empire, a number of which have survived today. Some of the most notable examples include the following:

There are also reproductions after the Ottoman era, such as Bezistan, Belgrade.

Sources

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Khadra Jayyusi, Salma. https://books.google.com/books?id=nY2DqJNPmioC&pg=PA149. The city in the Islamic world. Renata Holod. Attilio Petruccioli. André Raymond. Brill. 2008. 978-90-04-16240-2. Leiden ; Boston. 149. The Ottoman cities on the Balkans. Salma Jayyusi. 3 November 2011.
  2. Web site: Kamusi Osmani . 2019-09-21 . 2019-07-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190710100357/https://www.kamusiosmani.net/osmanlica-sozluk-5566-nedir-anlami.html . dead .
  3. Book: Zeitschrift für Ethnologie. 1974. Springer-Verlag. 3 November 2011. 226.
  4. Book: Öney. Gönül. Early Ottoman Art: The Legacy of the Emirates. Bulut. Lale. Çakmak. Şakir. Daş. Ertan. Demir. Aydoğan. Demiralp. Yekta. Ünal. Rahmi H.. Museum With No Frontiers. 2013.
  5. Book: Sumner-Boyd. Hilary. Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City. Freely. John. Tauris Parke Paperbacks. 2010. Revised. 157.
  6. Book: An economic and social history of the Ottoman Empire . 1997 . Cambridge ; New York . Cambridge University Press . 978-0-521-57456-3 . 578.
  7. Kreiser, Klaus: „Bedesten-Bauten im Osmanischen Reich. Ein vorläufiger Überblick auf Grund der Schriftquellen.“, in: Istanbuler Mitteilungen (Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Abteilung Istanbul) 2, pp.367-400 (Tübingen 1979), reprint in Istanbul und das Osmanische Reich. Derwischwesen, Baugeschichte, Inschriftenkunde. Istanbul: Isis 1995. 286 S. (Analecta Isisiana. 14) pp.61-96.
  8. Book: Köprülü Bağbancı, Özlem. https://books.google.com/books?id=QnkWywAACAAJ&pg=PP1. The Bazaar in the Islamic City: Design, Culture, and History. Oxford University Press. 2012. 9789774165290. Gharipour. Mohammad. 97–114. Commerce in the Emerging Empire: Formation of the Ottoman Trade Center in Bursa.
  9. Book: Duranti, Andrea. https://books.google.com/books?id=44vnCwAAQBAJ&dq=A+Caravanserai+on+the+Route+to+Modernity%3A+The+Case+of+the+Valide+Han+of+Istanbul&pg=PA229. The Bazaar in the Islamic City: Design, Culture, and History. Oxford University Press. 2012. 9789774165290. Gharipour. Mohammad. 229–250. A Caravanserai on the Route to Modernity: The Case of the Valide Han of Istanbul.
  10. Web site: Kapalıçarşı. 2020-06-24. Archnet.
  11. Web site: Türkoğlu. İnci. Grand Bazaar. 2020-06-24. Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers.
  12. Book: Norris, H. T.. Islam in the Balkans: religion and society between Europe and the Arab world. 1993. Hurst. London. 978-1-85065-167-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=kTcRDKnYf2cC&pg=PR14 . 3 November 2011. xiv. Glossary.
  13. Web site: Ankara - Anatolian Civilizations Museum. 2020-07-27. www.ktb.gov.tr.
  14. Web site: Brusa bezistan (Rustem Pasha bezistan, Small bezistan) with shops, the architectural ensemble . 2011-11-05 . Bosna i Hertegovina - Commission to Preserve National Monuments . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120501155803/http://www.kons.gov.ba/main.php?id_struct=50&lang=4&action=view&id=2841 . 2012-05-01 .
  15. Web site: Gazi Husrev-beg bezistan with shops, the architectural ensemble . 2011-11-05 . Bosna i Hertegovina - Commission to Preserve National Monuments . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120501160553/http://www.kons.gov.ba/main.php?id_struct=50&lang=4&action=view&id=2857 . 2012-05-01 .
  16. Web site: Bitola bezistan (Covered bazaar).
  17. Web site: Μπεζεστένι Σερρών . 2011-11-05 . Vasilis Kostovasilis . Part of the article "Τα Μπεζεστένια - Οι μεγάλες σκεπαστές αγορές", Ελληνικό Πανόραμα, Issue 30 (2002), pp. 102-131 . Serres Central Library . https://web.archive.org/web/20111121214905/http://serrelib.gr/bezasteni.htm . 2011-11-21 . dead .
  18. Web site: Bağışkan. Tuncer. Kıbrıs'ta Osmanlı – Türk Eserleri (5). Yeni Düzen. 24 July 2015. tr. 8 November 2014.
  19. Η Θεσσαλονίκη κατά την Τουρκοκρατία - Τα τουρκικά μνημεία . Αλίκη Σαμουηλίδου - Αιμιλία Στεφανίδου-Φωτιάδου . Περιοδικό Αρχαιολογία . May 1983 . 7 . 62 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120402053505/http://www.arxaiologia.gr/site/content.php?artid=409 . 2012-04-02 .

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