Late period Ottoman religious architecture in Tekirdağ (19th century-20th century)

The last part of the Ottoman architecture, covering the 19th and 20th centuries, constitutes the most productive period in terms of architecture, despite the fact that it was a period in which the state faced important problems and was considered as a period of collapse. The number and variety of architectural artefacts belonging to this period is incomparably high compared to previous periods. Today, the silhouettes of many of our historical cities are still formed by the buildings of this period. Thrace and the Balkans, where the Ottoman Empire, which ruled over vast borders, invested the most, received the largest share of the construction activities. With the participation of non-Muslim communities in this process with the privileges provided by Tanzimat, these communities, which had dense populations in Thrace, found the opportunity to build hundreds of religious buildings. From the last quarter of the 19th century until the beginning of the Balkan Wars in 1912, a large number of mosques, churches, monasteries and synagogues were added to the inventory from city centres to villages throughout Tekirdağ province. It should not be forgotten that the public works policies of Abdülhamid II and the settlement of the immigrant communities coming to the country due to the wars were decisive factors. In addition to the mosques, tekkes, tombs, churches, monasteries and synagogues in Late Ottoman architecture, many mosques with schools were built in Western and Eastern Thrace. With this study, the typological characteristics and the distribution area in the region of these buildings, which have a place in our architectural history as a type project, have been determined. Keywords: Late Period Ottoman Architecture, Tanzimat, Tekirdağ, Mosque with School, Mosque, Church, Synagogue