Baroque Architecture - Turkey

Turkey

Istanbul, once the capital of the Ottoman Empire, hosts many different varieties of Baroque architecture. As reforms and innovations to modernize the country came out in 18th and 19th century, various architecture styles were used in Turkey, one of them was the Baroque Style. As Turkish architecture (which is also a combination of Islamic and Byzantine architecture) combined with Baroque, a new style called Ottoman Baroque appeared. Baroque architecture is mostly seen in mosques and palaces built in this centuries. The Ortaköy Mosque, is one of the best examples of Ottoman Baroque Architecture. The Tanzimat Era caused more architectural development. The architectural change continued with Sultan Mahmud II, one of the most reformist sultans in Turkish History. One of his sons, Sultan Abdülmecid and his family left the Topkapı Palace and moved to the Dolmabahçe Palace which is the first European-style palace in the country.

Baroque architecture in Istanbul was mostly used in palaces near the Bosphorus and Golden Horn. Beyoğlu was one of the places that Baroque and other European style architecture buildings were largely used. The famous streets called Istiklal Avenue, Nişantaşı, Bankalar Caddesi consist of these architecture style apartments. The Ottoman flavour gives it its unique atmosphere, which also distinguishes it from the later "colonial" Baroque styles, largely used in the Middle East, especially Lebanon. Later and more mature Baroque forms in Istanbul can be found in the gates of the Dolmabahçe Palace which also has a very "eastern" flavour, combining Baroque, Romantic, and Oriental architecture.