Architectural identity of the Ottoman capital depicted in German travel books of the 16th and 17th centuries

The German travelers who witnessed the Istanbul of the Ottoman Empire at the peak of its power and splendor in the 16th and 17th centuries and the travelogues written by these travelers are the main elements that constitute the content of this study. As a matter of fact, the primary sources of the research are the travelers and travelogues that have been examined in a certain number. The aim of this study is to obtain information about some of the buildings that have not survived to the present day through the narratives of German-speaking travelers who witnessed Istanbul in the 16th and 17th centuries. It is also to show that travelogues can be important sources of information about lost artifacts. The aim of the study is to draw a panorama of the Istanbul of the period, to reveal new findings on the subject and to contribute to the architectural literature of the 16-17th century. The architectural identity of Istanbul in the 16th and 17th centuries, the buildings, monuments, civil architecture, panoramic city view, street structure, residential architecture, etc. that have not survived to the present day have been identified and analyzed based on the accounts in the travelogues of German travelers. The information provided by the travelers was compared with those in other sources, historical maps and today's GIS data. Thus, the accuracy of the information provided by the travelers was evaluated and the data obtained were interpreted.