In the Shadow of World War I: Trade in Istanbul Asmaaltı Safiye Kıranlar, Nalan Turna Belleten, 2026 In the late Ottoman era, Asmaaltı—often referred to as “Istanbul’s pantry” and located next to Balıkpazarı, Tahtakale, and the Egyptian Bazaar—emerged as a vital node within the trade axis connecting the Golden Horn to major commercial centers such as the Grand Bazaar and Galata. This article examines the micro-scale, yet historically significant urban space within the broader context of World War I and the Ottoman Empire’s wartime economic policies. As the war progressed, intensifying economic pressures—exacerbated by the blockade of the İzmir port—amplified Asmaaltı’s strategic role. In response to deteriorating conditions, merchants shifted operations to Asmaaltı and adopted survival strategies such as stockpiling and hoarding. At the same time, the Ottoman state sought to stabilize the domestic economy through interventions such as price controls, anti-hoarding regulations, and export restrictions. These state measures, combined with merchant responses and the effects of the blockade, contributed to a significant restructuring of existing trade networks. Within this framework, the article interprets the era’s widespread speculative practices not as mere opportunism but as expressions of deeper structural transformations within the wartime economy. Ultimately, by focusing on that Asmaaltı played a role in sustaining Istanbul’s economic vitality, the article offers new insights into the transformation of urban commerce during this critical period.
The Role of Artisans in the Circumcision Festival of 1675 During the Reign of Sultan Mehmed IV M. Fatih Torun, Nalan Turna Belleten, 2024 In 1675, the Ottoman state held an imperial festival (sur-ı hümayun) in Edirne to celebrate the military achievements, the circumcision of the sons of Sultan Mehmed IV (r. 1648-1687) and the marriage of his daughter. Drawing from seventeenthcentury official and non-official sources concerning the festival, this essay focuses mainly on the role of the artisans. It shows how the practices of the artisans at the festival resembled those of the army artisans who, too, paraded at the initial stage of the military campaigns. However, rather than the mere theatrical aspects of the guilds’ pageantry, it emphasizes other yet multiple functions of the artisans. In particular, showing the role of the Istanbul and Edirne guilds in front of and behind the stage, this essay argues that they not only benefited from participating in such events but also bore their burdens as they provided various services, labor, and funding. In this regard, it also pays attention to the other side of the coin where not only artisans but also other actors were involved. To this end, after a brief introduction, this essay focuses on the day-to-day parades of the artisans, the practices of gift-giving, the burdens and benefits of the festival for the different classes, and finally its military tone by considering the actively involved artisans and their auxiliaries.
A Family Magazine in the Early Republican Period: “Aile Dostu (Family Friendly)” and its Readership Journal of Modern Turkish History, 2024
Some analyses on an artisan census in the early 20th century Journal of Modern Turkish History, 2020
Ottoman apprentices and their experiences Nalan Turna Middle Eastern Studies, 2019 In this article, I analyze craft and trade apprentices in the late Ottoman Empire in order to add a new dimension to the existing literature on guilds and artisans. Rather than presenting an ideal picture, I discuss the apprentices' actions and experiences, which I argue did not take place in isolation. First, I briefly discuss Ottoman guilds and artisans, including a literature review, define and explain both the system of apprenticeship and who apprentices were. After focusing on the dialectical relationship between the upper and lower ranks, which presented itself through the authority - obedience or autonomy - disobedience relationship, I explain how the lower rank attempted to gain autonomy. I also question whether guild harmony was real or not and explore how some apprentices changed the direction of their life path, away from mastership to something else entirely. The hidden and unhidden resistance of apprentices will be shown through acts of theft, assault with a knife, and absconding, and through survival strategies which included running away. In the final part of the article, I describe how new institutions filled the gap left by the traditional guild system, which had been on the decline since the nineteenth century.
The shoe guilds of Istanbul in the early nineteenth century: A case study Bread from the Lion S Mouth Artisans Struggling for A Livelihood in Ottoman Cities, 2015
Pandemonium and order: Suretyship, surveillance, and taxation in early nineteenthcentury Istanbul Nalan Turna New Perspectives on Turkey, 2008 This article analyzes the practice of suretyship (kefalet), surveillance and taxation in early nineteenth-century İstanbul. It deals with how the practice of suretyship functioned to achieve social control; it provided shelter for some but at the same time marginalized others with little or no social status. This article also analyzes the extent to which the state maintained order through suretyship. In this way, it intends to capture where and how state and society interacted through social and state control mechanisms. To this end, this article takes into consideration two particular events, the Greek uprising of 1821 and the abolition of the Janissary Corps in 1826, and demonstrates a growing tendency towards impersonal relations in terms of governmental practices of surveillance. Briefly, it illustrates how suretyship changed over time and how a gradual transition took place from personal to impersonal relations as well as within governmental practices. Furthermore, this article provides examples of similar practices by focusing on an institutional development that involved the government systematically accumulating knowledge about the population. Finally, it explores taxation practices by the government in order to. show how the pre-modern (contractual) and the modern (statutory) state were not substitutes for each other, but rather shaped each other.
