MUDURNU. Historic Guild Town of Mudurnu. Bolu Turkey

            HİSTORİC MUDURNU     OLD BAZAAR
 
UNESCO Tentative Lists 
 
The settlement of Mudurnu was founded along a deep, narrow valley formed by the Mudurnu (Gallos) River, in a region rich with pine forests and thermal springs. The ancient geographer Strabon informs that the town of Modrene (Mudurnu) was located on the major trade routes of Anatolia. The Silk Road, which connected inner Asia with Tabriz in the 13th-14th centuries, continued to Bursa via Erzurum-Sivas, and passing through Mudurnu-Göynük-Taraklı-Geyve, finally reached Constantinople. Another major trade route of the time, the Crimean Road, connected Damascus and Mediterranean port cities with Bursa, proceeding to Constantinople and the Black Sea through Mudurnu-Bolu-Kastamonu-Cide. Situated at the junction of these roads, Mudurnu served as an important military base and mid-size trading town in the Byzantine, Seljukid and Ottoman periods. 
Mudurnu developed as a trading and military hub at the junction of major trade routes including the Silk Road, to emerge as an important cultural centre of the Ahi Order in the Ottoman era. The dense linear settlement, lying along the rocky Mudurnu River valley, forms a harmonious ensemble of natural topography and urban fabric, creating a dramatic historic urban landscape. The legacy of Ottoman trade and crafts, the Ahi culture based on a philosophy of tolerance and equitable distribution of wealth, and associated monumental and civic architecture are significant features of this landscape. As an Early Ottoman religious philosophy, the Ahi tradition is particular to Anatolia and has played a key role in the development of Turkish sovereignty and culture in Anatolia. Kept alive in the social and physical milieu of Mudurnu since the 14th century, the Ahi tradition has clear reflections in the urban environment. The most striking social reflection of the Ahi tradition is the Merchants’ Prayer (Esnaf Duası) that has been performed in the historical bazaar (Arasta) for 700 years. The physical reflections of the Ahi culture are seen in the building activity that was undertaken with the wealth accumulated by the organization of Ahi guilds and Mudurnu’s strategic location at the junction of major routes. Significant elements of this built heritage are the Arasta that is home to the traditional artisanal trades, the vernacular urban fabric containing sophisticated examples of Western Black Sea region timber houses, the Yıldırım Bayezıd Mosque representing an important step in the evolution of the Ottoman single-domed mosque architecture and other monuments such as the hammam, saint tombs and graves of the Ottoman period.
 
The Ahi order, which played an active role in the economic life of the Anatolian Seljuks and has since been a symbol of Turkish morality, is not encountered in any other nation. Mudurnu is the only district-level urban centre in Turkey where the Merchants’ Prayer, a quintessentially Ahi practice, has been performed continuously without interruption for more than 700 years, and the ‘Ahi Culture Week’ is officially celebrated. Mudurnu has played a distinct role in certain milestones in the development of Turkish states in Anatolia, most notably through the Çandarlı Vizier dynasty, which helped establish early Ottoman state institutions, as a centre of education for Ottoman crown princes.
 
whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/6038/

Taken in: Turkey / Bolu / Mudurnu (show map)

Taken on: July 2, 2019

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Sets appears in: • MUDURNU Historic Guild Town of Mudurnu • TURKEY HISTORICAL HOUSES

Camera: Nikon D7100, f/8.0, 1/160 sec, 14mm (=21mm), ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D7100
Lens:	10.0-20.0 mm f/4.5-5.6
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	0.006 sec (1/160)
Focal Length:	14mm (35mm equivalent: 21mm)
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	sRGB
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