A Research on Mosque and Neighborhood in Rhodes City in the Ottoman Period

Abstract

Having a history of about 3000 years, Rhodes was taken from the Knights of Saint-Jean in 1522 and came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. During this period, after the Ottoman Empire besieged the island, it primarily repaired the city walls and settled in a walled city. Later, the Ottoman Empire re-functionalized many buildings belonging to the Byzantine and Knights period. Churches are at the top of these structures. During the Ottoman period, these buildings were converted into mosques, masjids, or schools. In addition, many new buildings were built. Again, mosques and masjids are at the top of this building group. Within the scope of this research, first, the architectural features of all the masjids and mosques in the Rhodes city wall region during the Ottoman period were examined, then the plans and sections of these structures were compiled and catalogued. In addition, the locations of all these buildings are shown on the Rhodes map. In the second section of the study, the neighborhood names of the city of Rhodes were obtained from the census data of 1831, and these neighborhood names and religious structures were matched. Thus, a new map showing the neighborhood locations and possible boundaries of the city was produced and an interpretation was made on the appearance of Rhodes during the Ottoman period. In this direction, the study aims to contribute to the literature of architectural history, both as a catalogue study in which all mosques and masjids on the island of Rhodes during the Ottoman period are compiled and as research that examines the relationship between mosques and neighborhoods in Ottoman cities.