Abstract:

Research on urban history of a southern city in Turkey the city of Adana was mainly concerned with the social economical and administrative history of its recent past mostly late 19th century Besides the physical outcome of those factors has rarely been subject to analysis The city having a rich urban history going back to the 15th century B C was subject to rapid urban expansion during the 16th century A C due to the social economical and administrative situation of the time In fact until the prosperous 1960s it could be argued that the city had its golden era in the 16th century The aim of this paper was to identify the transformation of the physical structure and in particular the boundaries of the urban settlement of the city of Adana during the 16th century Ottoman Tax records which included the number of taxpayers with their occupation as well as their religion in a quarter were the main sources of information in order to trace the location of the quarters and the social structure The records of the waqf Islamic endowment institution property and a comprehensive archival research supported that information The information gathered that way was discussed on a 1938 land survey map of the town which the researcher prepared by combining approximately 40 pieces of maps in varying scales The records of the waqf property in particular were the major sources of information as the properties were described according to their direction and the relation with the neighbouring properties or urban elements in the town The key findings of the study indicated that the town doubled its size between 1525 and 1572 following the construction of the Kulliye under the administration of the Ramazanoğlu family The town was surrounded with orchards and still had the traces of the previous civilizations mainly the Fortress and the ruins of the city walls The population was primarily consisted of Muslims with an Armenian community living in a single quarter covering 1 10th of the total population In conclusion the city of Adana showed main characteristics of an Islamic town in the 16th century having the Kulliye in the centre which consisted of the Ulu Mosque the Market the Hamam and the Madrasa Key Words: Adana Çukurova Ramazanoğlu

Keywords: