Three Late-Ottoman Governors of Konya and their Urban Development Activities

Abstract

The opening of the Ottoman economy to the world economy by the Anglo-Turkish Commercial Treaty of 1838 as well as the new concept of administration introduced by the Tanzimat Firman, led to important transformations in the urban structures of the country's cities in the second half of the 19th century. New economic relations and new forms of administration required new urban centres, new infrastructure and new institutions. The transformation could not he realized by the existing Ottoman laws and institutions, which were manifestly out of date (Tekeli 1992:19). For this reason, new laws, regulations and methods imported from the West were implemented in Ottoman cities by institutions that were also transferred from the West.