THE

GRAND
BAZAAR IN
ISTANBUL

NET CASE
STUDY
 HISTORY
Established in 1454 under Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II (1451-81), the
Grand Bazaar has for centuries served as Istanbuls commercial
center and continues to operate as an important civic hub.

Initially, the bazaars site was chosen in accordance with settlement

patterns of the Byzantine city in an area already established as an
important center for trade.

The location of the Istanbul Bedesten, the first section of the bazaar
thus maintained old patterns of trade but altered the mode through
which trade was administered and taxed.
 Funds generated
from rents were
used to support
the work

the vakf facilitated the

construction of the bazaar
through funds

the construction of the

cultural and
commercial complexes
in conquered cities
hans that encircled
the periphery and
served as central
depots

Guild streets (zoned by

trade)
bedestens used as
storehouses and
vaults for precious
items
PRESENT BAZAAR
Today, the bazaar primarily
serves the tourist market.

In approximately 75 acres it
contains roughly 4,000 shops
and 61 streets.

Within this area are an array of

supporting amenities such as
hans, cafs, restaurants,
currency exchanges, tea
houses, and mosques.

Streets bordering the bazaar

form a contiguous open-air
market
serve as
central
depots

reduced
transportation

search costs for

consumers and
distributors reduced
 impacts of
this system

When craftsmen lose their

certificates, they sought to practice
their crafts outside the area
designated for their guilds

the selling of gedik

certificates enabled
people with no artisan
background to enter the
the gedik implied not only the guilds
spatial disintegration of the guild
system but also significantly
hampered its hierarchical
workings
Bazaar Districts, 1960&2000
CAS THEORY NETWORK THEORY

these systems are non-

linear
topology of the flows
evolving over time and between agents
retaining useful
characteristics Resource fuel a CAS
composed of networks of
interacting parts
evolves from the
independent units, interactions of agents
termed agents evolve into hierarchies
evolve according to of loosely and highly
variation, selection connected nodes
and retention
 ANALYSIS

The bazaar is analysed through

kevin lynchs framework(paths,
landmarks, nodes, edges,
district).

The physical features

reinterpreted as functional
features.

The functions are then related

to CAS properties and
analysed.
 CELLS
texture of the Grand Bazaar is comprised of the individual shops that
define its fabric.

Cells form the base component of CAS.

Shops mediate between merchants and shoppers with different

goals.

flexible nature of agents emphasizes small scale units into larger

units.

This nature provides greatest adaptability within these systems.

In the bazaar, the small and flexible nature of cells supports

variation.
JOINED CELLS

Businesses normally operate

within a single cell.

But if successful, they may

appropriate additional cells
located in nearby storefronts or
streets.
OPENING BETWEEN CELLS

In some cases, shops extend into

neighbouring cells, if the
merchandise is larger in scale.

In these cases, merchants

occasionally create openings
between cells.
CELL SUBDIVIDED

In instances where products are

small, cells can also be divided in
half to offset high rents.

This occurs in some jewellery

sections and at currency
exchanges.
 PATHS
CAS THEORY
NETWORK THEORY
The bazaar sits at the
crossroads of historically
significant routes high degree of redundancy
in resource flows allows the
Gateways into the bazaar network to auto-catalyze.
gather denser flows
Flows shift directions and
streets form a tightly-woven densities
grid

This variety generates Thus the original bedesten,

shortcuts, cycling resources once a major hub of the
more effectively bazaar, has diminished in
importance.
topology of the Grand Bazaars
street network is intrinsically Flow patterns have adjusted
elastic accordingly.
GATEWAYS

Streets that are centrally located

draw higher volumes of traffic,
while peripheral zones remain
more private.
The scale of streets
corresponds to traffic flows.

Major gateways from

Nurosmaniye Mosque direct high
volumes of traffic into the
bazaar, where rents are most
expensive.
GATEWAYS

Entries from the west are

narrower, and shops in this area
sell lower-priced goods.

spaces that are deeply

embedded within the bazaars
spatial structure are accessed
through a series of thresholds
that act as boundaries,
maintaining privacy.
HAN ENTRY

Entrances to these hans splinter

off from main traffic routes, but
are recessed within several
thresholds that inhibit tourists
from entering.

Additional barriers to movement

appear within these hans, where
older stairwells, leading to upper
levels, discourage tourists.
MARKET STREET

in areas where flows are in the

form of repeat customers, shops
display greater specificity and
contiguity.

Flows on the streets north of the

bazaar are produced mostly by
locals, and these areas appear far
more specialized, with contiguous
districts emerging to capture
these repeat flows
TRANSPORT CARTS

Porters quickly and efficiently

navigate the streets, bringing
goods, food or tea from one
region to another.

The flexible and agile qualities of

human pulled carts are used to
transport material flows along
the tight streets.
 HUBS
hubs orient certain kinds of
behaviours.

nodes can be regarded as physical

junctures that support temporary
connections, but are accessible to
a global range of flows.

Junctions tend to attract more

localized flows.

Landmarks are the physical

manifestation of thick flows.

Anchors also help preserve routine

behaviours, but at the local rather
than global level.
PRAYER ON STREETS

Nodes that encouraged tacit

flows disappeared from the
bazaar.
Landmarks that once supported
formalized connections have
also been marginalized.

mosques lack sufficient space to

house all participants. Prayer
thus occurs on the streets of the
bazaar.
MOSQUE INSIDE THE BAZAAR

While the bazaars mosque plays

an important functional part, it
lacks a strong physical presence

absence of common hubs to

bridge these rifts results in
friction between communities.
TEMPORARY STREET JUNCTION

Social connections appeared to

develop at shifting junctions that
occur on the streets.

When business is slow,

shopkeepers leave their shops
but remain in close proximity to
one another, engaging in
conversation while keeping an
eye on their store.
entrances to shops thus serve as
informal gathering places.
ABLUTION FOUNTAINS

Historically, hans served as

distribution depots, acting as
important Nodes within the
global context of tacit
networks of flows.

Hans also served religious

functions, by housing ablution
fountains.
PRESENT HANS

provide stable local

infrastructure that supports
surrounding businesses.

They are local Anchors that

sustain various district
functions - restrooms,
teahouses, barbershops and
repair shops.
PRESENT HANS
Some manufacturing persists
in the hans but this has
diminished.

hans on the outside are more

homogenous, selling specific
merchandise.
These hans continue to serve
as major distribution points
that mediate local and global
flows.
 EDGES
Tags within a complex system operate as labels that display, and
manifest information regarding established strategies and
competencies.

In the bazaar, tags take the form of each cells street-frontage,

where merchants display their goods.

Individual cells broadcast a range of signals, including the nature of

work being undertaken popularity of merchandise, casual interaction
marketing strategies.

Since individual street frontages are narrow, a wide array of high-

density information is available at a glance.
CASUAL STREET MONITORING

Merchants stand or sit outside their

shops, monitoring tourists.
Neighbours view what is displayed,

The street-front displays tag the

shops merchandise and competencies.
benefit from their co-location through
which they are well informed about
the characteristics of their
competitors.
 DISTRICTS
The bazaar no authorities that partition it into districts.

The urban framework of the bazaar is due to its inherent spatial

elasticity, well suited to enable this clustering.

Contiguous districts expand and contract depending on each shops

market capacity.

The larger the district the more crowded the niche.

The size of the district represents the carrying capacity of the queue.
NICHE TESTING

In the bazaar, some

streets offer total
homogeneity, whereas
others are punctuated by
tests of innovative
products.

attempts by new merchants to

exploit high volumes of tourist
flows on this major artery.
spatial contiguity is counter-
balanced by new niche tests.
 market streets that are just north of the
bazaar maintain high levels of
specialization and contiguity.

Shops selling military supplies, lingerie

items, bedroom fabrics, prayer beads
ribbon supplies represent a sample of the
many programs that coalesce into
specialized pockets.

there is greater coherence of distinct han

merchandise outside the bazaar.
a certain amount of repeat traffic is
needed to maintain coherent districts.
 CONCLUSION
The bazaar is also a node within Istanbuls larger complexity. At the
scale of the city, the bazaar is itself a landmark: a place where global
forces of change conflict with local patterns of continuity.

These competing forces reverberate within the walls of the Grand

Bazaar, threatening its unity. At the same time, these pressures are key
to the markets ongoing transformation.

Continuity and change find spatial expression through an urban fabric

that is able to reinforce, reproduce and relay shifting competencies.
The urban landscape thus absorbs and reflects new traditions,
economic patterns and cultural norms in an ongoing adaptive process
that sustains and breathes life into Istanbuls Grand Bazaar.