Independent Istanbul Libraries in the Ottoman Era

In the Ottoman Empire, independent libraries began to emerge from the second half of the 17th century (1670s). The first example of this type of structure is the Köprülü Library, built by Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha as a unit of the Köprülü Mehmed Pasha Complex on Divanyolu. The first independent library not affiliated with a complex is the Şehid Ali Pasha Library in Vefa, dating back to 1715. These independent libraries were generally built with square or rectangular plans. However, the Baroque plan of the Atıf Efendi Library shows a strong resemblance to the cathedral in Pienza, Italy, dated 1464. Similarly, the Nuruosmaniye Library, with its Baroque plan, resembles the S. Carlo alla Quattro Fontane Church in Rome, dated 1634.

In this study titled "Independent Istanbul Libraries of the Ottoman Period," all existing independent libraries (28 in total) that hold a significant place in the cultural life of Istanbul were examined. However, the wooden "Şerif Halil Pasha Library," added to the Cerrahpaşa Complex by Şerif Halil Pasha in 1744, and the "Abdurrahman Nafiz Pasha Library" in the Yenikapı Mevlevihane, were not included in the study as they have not survived in their original form. The aforementioned 28 libraries were evaluated in terms of their founders, architectural features, and locations. The period in which each library was built, under which chief architect, was determined by drawing upon our previous studies based on archival documents.