Spaces of Time Times of Space - Architectural Space and Life in the Ottoman Empire

Every individual designs, classifies, interprets, and perceives space through the culture they belong to and the language they speak. Architectural design plays an effective role in giving meaning to words, and this design-perception process is shaped by the knowledge accumulated by the society in which the individual lives.

Today, many words within the "Ottoman Architectural Terminology" have been adopted over time as products of a design process connected to their origins. Over time, each design has broadened, deepened, and enriched the meanings of words. Words allow us to reflect on the reasons for the existence of structures and spaces shaped by changing conditions in different periods. These conditions arise from necessities imposed by social and construction rules and from periodic differences. Thus, the formation processes, design approaches, and usage patterns of structures and spaces become decisive in the evolution of architectural terminology and the conceptualization of words.

This book aims to examine specific building types and spaces that emerged within the social and cultural dynamics of 19th-century Istanbul, through the words that express them, using archival documents, fictional texts, memoirs, and various other sources.