A Study on the historical environment in the city center of Akhisar

In this scope of this study, the historical environment in the center of the town of Akhisar has been examined. Historical and cultural development of the town and the buildings forming the urban pattern have been documented; proposals for preserving and developing the historical bazaar in the center have been presented. Akhisar is located 52 km away from the north of Manisa. The source of living of town has always been based on agriculture during history. Because it has fertile lands and is located on the main roads trade has kept its liveliness in every period. These factors have been a specifying quality on the development of the urban pattern of Akhisar. In Ancient Times, Akhisar, an important town of Lydia due to its crowded population and wealth was called as Thyateira. During Byzantine Period, it's one of the first seven cities where Christianity began to spread out in the West Anatolia. Because of the castle built by Theador, the Prince of Byzantine this town was called as Aspro-Kastro which means white tower. Although the town was one of the important places of the country entering under the domination of Saruhanoğullan, very few number of works of art were built at the beginning of 1300s. It was under the domination of the Ottoman Empire in the 14th century, in the 16th and the 17th centuries it showed a development by its weaving, grape wines and the work of oil growing. In these centuries the spreading of gardening with the aim of the trading near the town caused the stream of non-Muslims and these migrations supplied the demographic development. In the 18 century, Akhisar also was influenced by the trading development of Izmir and it reached a position in which it could develop cotton and cotton thread to the trade centers. In the 18th and 19th centuries, it maintained its presence as an important place of Saruhan Country. In the last few years of the 19th century, with the development of the work ofIV tobacco growing, Akhisar entered a new period. Akhisar which was occupied by the Greeks in the War of Liberation, maintained its presence as a town center connected to Manisa after the war. The buildings which exist in Akhisar, having historical character have concentrated in the town center. Most of the buildings located in the west side of the center ceased to exist as they could not be preserved. In this region, a lot of ruins belonging to the Ancient Times were found, but because of the density of buildings in near environment the necessary excavations of research could not be done. With the shaping of the block of buildings in the east of the town center and the types of buildings that are inside the town, it's a more special featured region. In the region, there are several monumental buildings most of which are the mosques, assumed to be belonging to the Ottoman Period. The mosques do not form a pattern with its environment, but spread out to the areas on which houses are located. Because of the abundance of the number of buildings, having historical character, that it has and it reflects its trade culture, the trade center taking place in this region is the most featured region of town. Two Kulliyes and mosques forming these complex of buildings located in town and also Turkish baths and han take place in the trade center and are located at the two ends of the center. Because of the patching up and the act of giving wrong functions causing these buildings to lose their features, the stores and hans in bazaar forming trading pattern entered the period of becoming extinct. While trading life in historical pattern kept its liveliness, these buildings became non-perceptible in this pattern. In the region which had an important demolition and where the precautions of preservation were not enough, the public squares lost their functions and turned into the empty areas where the traffic flowed. It's necessary that these empty areas, having great importance in the life of town should be arranged and improved by restoring. With this study, after proving the buildings which is the first stage of preserving, proposals of preservation were developed by determining the problems that the buildings examined have nowadays. In this context, the aim of the study, its content and method have been explained in the introduction part of the thesis. In the 2nd part; the definition of the position of town, its transportation, its physical-economical and social structure, inthe 3rd part; the historical period influencing the formation of pattern, in the 4th part; the examination of the development of the urban pattern, in the 5th part; the proposals of preservation brought to the entire town were given place. The buildings belonging to the Külliye of San Ahmet Pasa which is one of the buildings of Ottoman Period in the study area, the analysis of their present situations and the proposals of improvements about its near environment with the group of buildings were improved in part 6.Key Words: Preserving the Historical Environment, Akhisar, Trade Buildings