Özet:

Kahramanmaraş, located on important transit routes in the hinterland of Anatolia, Eastern Mediterranean and Arabian Peninsula, in addition to the activity in its political and military history, has hosted a vibrant socio-economic life in the past as well as today. The city, relocated several times after the devastating earthquakes in history, the development in the present settlement area of the city in Turkish era started in Dukadiroğulları Principality period. Maraş, the administrative center of Dulkadiroğulları Principality, was able to officially maintain its dominance in the region until 1552 and it can be said that the city had institutional and systematic urban structures before the Ottoman domination in terms of religious, commercial and residential zones. In the southern part of Maraş Castle and of the bazaar area, shaped around the Ulu Mosque, which was firstly built by Dulkadirli Süleyman Bey in the mid 15th century, the organized commercial structures such as Old (Up) Bedesten (multi-domed market halls) and Sûk-i Maraş (today’s Municipal Bazaar) took their place in the beginning of the 16th century. The development of the inner-city commercial area of Maraş continued in the Ottoman period and a classical Ottoman bazaar focused on Down (New) Bedesten began to take shape in the west of the existing old bazaar in the late 16th century. The existing texture of Maraş Grand Bazaar, adjacent to the southern side of New Bedesten has taken shape with the bezirgân (merchants), kavaf (leather dealers), köşker (cobblers) and alaca (colored weavers) shops lined up in an open-topped arasta (the shops of the same trade built in a street line) order, which was completely converted into a masonry structure and covered with vault systems in the second half of the 19th century. In this paper, the development stages of Maraş Grand Bazaar from its foundation to the present are discussed in the light of architectural data and written sources, and the periodic restitution proposals are made regarding history of the building. Following the introduction of the study, the physical development process of Maraş city and historical trade zone is emphasized and the four construction periods, determined for the architectural changes of the Grand Bazaar are analyzed. Accordingly, it is understood that the Bazaar came to life with the construction of Bezirgânlar, Kavaflar and Köşkerler arastas that were deployed in order of priority in the south of New Bedesten in the end of 16th century. In the second period, an example of the classical “Taş Hans” built in other Ottoman cities in the mid-17th century and Taş Han together with Alacacılar Arasta as a contemporary extension were added to the eastern wing of the Bazaar. In the third period of the bazaar, in accordance with the Ebniye Regulations (Ottoman construction law), which came into force in the Ottoman State in the 19th century, the bazaar was completely converted into masonry and the open-topped arasta streets were covered with different vault systems. Kahramanmaraş Grand Bazaar took its current shape in the fourth period, when the Köşkerler Arastası, which formed the western wing, was destroyed due to Atatürk Boulevard that opened in the mid 20th century. In conclusion, it is remarked that the Grand Bazaar, which has an important cultural heritage value for the urban history of Maraş, is an Ottoman bazaar in a multi-row arasta order similar to the examples of Istanbul and Kayseri; also it is emphasized that the building needs an urgent rehabilitation, including the partial damage it received in the earthquake, occurring in February 6, 2023. The aim of this study is to bring a monographic essay in which the construction history of Kahramanmaraş Grand Bazaar visualized with period restitutions, among the Ottoman city, architecture and art history studies and also to make a contribution to the conservation and restoration works that should be carried out after the 2023 earthquake in the monument.

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