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EXAMPLES OF AL-FINA' IN ISLAMIC CITIES 117
The increasing economic and political power of the Ottomans
contributed to increase this society' s cultural productivity
reflected in the developing urban design of Istanbul, and an
increase in construction generally. The new urban design and
architecture which was applied by the Ottomans in Istanbul had
two roles: first to Islamize the design patterns of the existing
buildings and open spaces of the city, and second to use Islamic
design elements for the construction of new buildings and spaces
based on judgements as interpreted from Islamic law.
This was natural since the ottomans generally used the
Islamic law (shari'ah) as the basic canon to organize their
society. In spite of this, the Ottoman administration was based
on a decentralized system to run the city. Therefore, most of the
buildings projects, were designed, built, and administrated by
local administrators, community leaders, and common people.
A large number of new buildings types such as mosques,
fountains, baza' rs, and shrines were introduced by the new
Islamic architecture, which had developed in the other Islamic
countries since 7th century.
An increase in the general level of construction activity
by the rulers and the common people between the 15th-16th
centuries had an important impact on the physical character of
the city, reflected in an emerging Islamic-Turkish architectural
style and urban design. In the central area the Hagia Sophia175
was transformed from an orthodox church into the central mosque
with a central market near to the mosque and connected to it by
the main existing thoroughfare.
Over time, streets generally became more irregular and most
of the wide, straight, and regular avenues gradually disappeared.
175About the history of the Hagia Sophia see: Mark, Robert & Cekmak, Ahmet
S., 1992, Hagia Sophia from the age of Justinian to the present, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge.