Epidemics and Quarantine Buildings of the City of Trabzon in the Ottoman Period (1838-1914)
Fulya Üstün Demirkaya1, Merve Yavru21Karadeniz Technical University, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Architecture, Trabzon2Karadeniz Technical University,Graduate Institute of Natural and Applied Sciences, Head of Architecture, Trabzon
The quarantine measures which have been applied in fighting epidemics all over the world have also been applied by the Ottoman State in the 19th century. Trabzon has a significant place for being among the first cities after Istanbul where these quarantine measures had been applied. Indeed, Trabzon which was a major transit trade centre of the Ottoman had been severely affected by each epidemic and also had been influential in the spreading of epidemics through overland and sea routes. During periods of epidemics in Trabzon and its periphery the course of diseases, number of patients, officials and also the measures taken in the city and the comfort conditions of the quarantine centres often have been subject to administrative correspondences and health reports of this era whereas the existing studies solely focused on these aspects of quarantines. There is a lack of information on the architectural characteristics of these buildings which have vanished almost without leaving any trace, their location and the relation of their locations with the city. Further, the possibility of the existence of other buildings which might not be mentioned previously or might not be noticed is worth considering. In this context, this study aims to identify the names and general views of the quarantine centres built in Trabzon, identify the locations of these buildings and question the reasons for selecting these locations by reviewing archive documents and maps. Thus, the locations of these buildings within the city’s topography and their architectural physical status are objects of interest whereas there is no comprehensive study that considers these buildings as a whole and questions these aspects. This study includes the period from 1838 when a modern and organized quarantine centre for fighting epidemics has been established in Trabzon up to 1914 when the influences of war emerged in daily life because the Ottoman State joined World War One. In the course of the definition of the quarantine buildings; first the identification, construction dates and location were tried to be clarified by using, besides modern studies, also archive documents, itineraries, official reports and ruins of the buildings to identify the architectural characteristics. An effort has been shown to put forth the general structure related to the construction location of the building, the relation of this location with the city, port and trade routes by visualising this construction by extensive literature search, archive scanning and studying maps. In this study, five quarantine buildings that are presumed to be constructed to prevent any diseases mainly on trade routes have been identified in Trabzon. In addition to these quarantine buildings, a tebhirhane (disinfection stations) was constructed because of migrations to Trabzon. In total six buildings were studied in this research. The first among them is the Güzelhisar quarantine centre which is distinguished by its location associated with the port and the city. Simultaneously with this building and in direct relation with the ports, the Sürmene-Araklı quarantine centre had been constructed in the east whereas the Pulathane quarantine centre had been constructed in the west. The Hamsiköy quarantine centre in the south which plays a role as the gate of the city as well and the Değirmendere quarantine centre which was the last control point on the road before entering the city is of significance in terms of land trade routes other than ports and of the relation established by these routes with the city. The only quarantine centre which is jot associated with the trade routes was the Kavakmeydanı Tebhirhane which had been built after the Crimean War. While considering the quarantine measures and practices of the capital city and comparing them with those in Trabzon, it is understood that these buildings have been constructed as temporary buildings mostly in the form of sheds. In conclusion, the Ottoman practices in fighting epidemics which consisted of preventing the disease by temporary methods instead of developing fundamental solutions and applications caused the construction of quarantine buildings in Trabzon in the form of temporary sheds. These buildings were expanded by extensions when necessary and were neglected with the elimination of the epidemics and eventually destructed without leaving a trace.
Keywords: Epidemics, Ottoman; quarantine building; Trabzon; usul-ı tahaffuz (quarantine methods).Osmanlı Dönemi Trabzon'unda Salgınlar ve Karantina Binaları (1838-1914)
Fulya Üstün Demirkaya1, Merve Yavru21Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi, Mimarlık Fakültesi, Mimarlık Bölümü, Trabzon2Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Mimarlık Anabilim Dalı, Trabzon
Tarihin pek çok döneminde çeşitli zaman dilimlerinde, tıpkı bugünde olduğu gibi, toplumsal yaşam ile birlikte ekonomik ve politik hayatı etkileyen salgın hastalıklar ve bu salgınlar sonucundaki kitlesel ölümler; şehirlerin fiziki, sosyal ve demografik yapısında kalıcı ve büyük değişiklere neden olmuştur. Bir salgın hastalık durumunda ise devletlerin en etkin tedbir yöntemleri şüphesiz hastalığın ortaya çıkış yerinden dışarı yayılmasını engelleyerek, aynı yerde imha edilmesini sağlayan karantina (tahaffuz) uygulamaları olmuştur. Salgınlarla yapılan mücadelede tüm dünyada uygulanan karantina tedbirleri, 19. yüzyılda Osmanlı Devleti’nde de modern anlamda uygulanmaya başlanmıştır. Trabzon, karanti¬na önlemlerinin İstanbul’dan sonra uygulandığı ilk şehirlerden biri olarak önem taşımaktadır. Çalışmada, Osmanlı Anadolu’sundaki önemli karantina noktalarından biri olan Trabzon’da, salgın hastalıklarla mücadelede kurumsal olarak karantina idaresinin kurulduğu 1838 yılından, Osmanlı Devleti’nin Birinci Dünya Savaşı’na girmesi ve savaş yıllarında salgın hastalıkların faktörel olarak yön değiştirdiği 1914 yılına kadar inşa edilen karantina merkezleri konu edilmiştir. Bu bağlamda, Trabzon’a ilişkin mevcut literatürde yer alan karantina teşkilatının kuruluşu ve bu teşkilatın faaliyetlerine ilişkin bilgilerin ötesinde, şehirde inşa edilen ancak bugün tamamen ortadan kalkmış olan karantina yapılarının mümkün olduğunca eksiksiz tespit edilmesi hedeflenmiştir. Bu yapıların fiziki özelliklerinin ortaya konulması, inşa edildikleri yer, bu yerin seçim nedenleri ile şehir-yer-yapı ilişkisinin arşiv belgeleri ve haritalar üzerinden tartışılması ise çalışmanın ana amacını oluşturmaktadır.
Anahtar Kelimeler: Karantinahane, Osmanlı; salgın hastalıklar; Trabzon; Usul-ı Tahaffuz.Manuscript Language: Turkish
