Ayşe Kadın Cami'nde bulunan gemi kazımaları (Graffiti)

Graffiti has a broad scope since it can appear in various contexts. Graffiti in sacred/religious contexts have been interpreted as votives for protection, good fortune, salvation, hence scratching graffiti became a ritual rather than an ordinary act. On the other hand, because hull remains in the archaeological record are few, and the amount of information that can be obtained from it is very limited, scholars have been considering ship graffiti as a means to investigate nautical technology. These two aspects are combined in the current scholarship on ship graffiti. The ship graffiti in this research are located in Ayşe Kadın Mosque in the old village of Mordoğan in Karaburun peninsula, İzmir. They are densely clustered on the walls of the women's mezzanine in the prayer hall. The frescos that graffiti were scratched on give a terminus post quem of the late 18th century. This thesis analyzes this group of ship graffiti by trying to identify and interpret them within geographical, historical, and cultural contexts. By doing so, it emphasizes the human elements in their creation such as aesthetic concerns, beliefs, and habits. A secondary purpose, as a part of the methodology, is the evaluation of different documentation methods that can serve the needs of research questions. This corpus of graffiti is particularly important and unique. Even though ship graffiti in churches are well studied, the research on Islamic religious contexts is very limited. Furthermore, as they are found in the women's section of the mosque, this ritual can be safely identified with women of the village and their involvement in the maritime community. This specifically breaks the androcentric perspective in the field and encourage scholars to consider women as a possible artist of ship graffiti rather than focusing on men or staying gender neutral. Furthermore, the previous studies may be re-assessed, and new interpretations may evolve.