Architecture and Tile Usage in City Planning of Kutahya from Tanzimat to Republic

Abstract

Kutahya, which is located in the Aegean Region of Turkey, was founded in the 3th thousand BC. It was ruled by Phrygia, Bithynia, Pergamon, Rome and Byzantium until it was fully conquered by the Seljuks in the first half of the 13th century. Before joining the Ottoman Empire in 1429, Kutahya became the ruling center of the Germiyanids, who declared independence at the beginning of the 14th century.The traces of the city's historical past that have reached today, belongs to the Germiyanids and the Ottomans. The settlement inside the castle was the point of origin for the city's expansion during the Preottoman and the Ottoman periods. The first settlements of residence and trade outside the castle began on the eastern side of the castle and expanded towards the north, spread towards the plain beneath the Hıdırlık Hill.The physical structure of the city until the 19th century represents the classical Ottoman architecture and city planning forms. However, the Ebniye Nizamnameleri, which became effective along with the changes in the institutional, social, cultural and economic structures, formalized by the declaration of the Tanzimat reforms in 1839, generated a significant change in the structures of Anatolian cities. The architecture of the governor's office, the prison, the barracks and Idadi (high school), generated a new public space. The change is perceived throughout the city resulting from the renovations that carry out influences from the Western architectural styles.In this paper, the religious and public buildings will be analyzed together in the light of archive documents, considering the development of the city and the restructuring. Tile-making which is the main reason of Kutahya's renown will be analyzed in terms of utilization characteristics in the buildings and an evaluation will be made considering the city and the period.