THE ORIGINAL ARCHITECTURE OF THE OSMAN HAMDİ BEY BOATHOUSE

Abstract

Boathouses where small boats are towed, tied and protected are water transportation structures found along seacoasts, rivers and lakes. During the Ottoman period, it is known that there were many boathouse structures belonging to the residences found on the Bosphorus, Golden Horn and coastal settlements of Istanbul. This study aims at revealing the original architecture of the Osman Hamdi Bey boathouse by analyzıng its historical, architectural, construction techniques and material properties. This boathouse belonging to the famous painter, archaeologist, museologist and diplomat Osman Hamdi Bey (1842-1910) is a component of the wooden complex of buildings (mansion, painting studio and boathouse) in his vineyard estate located in the Gebze-Eskihisar district which is connected to the sea in Istanbul. It is also one of the few boathouses that has survived to the present day from the Ottoman period. After detailed research of the literature on Ottoman boathouses, in-situ examination and analyses of the Osman Hamdi Bey boathouse were made in 2011 by photographing and taking detailed dimensional measurements. All this gathered information obtained was recorded in architectural drawings and notes. From the architectural traces on the boathouse and by making comparisons with Ottoman period boathouses the original boathouse structure was determined. Then drawings of the original Osman Hamdi Bey boathouse were made with the help of the architectural details of the the mansion and painting studio found in this complex of the same period. This study of the original Osman Hamdi Bey boathouse can make a valuable contribution both to the literature of the boathouse architecture of the Ottoman period and help in documentation and conservation of such boathouse structures for future generations.