An Ottoman Era Town in the Balkans The Case Study of Kavala Birmingham Byzantine and Ottoman Studies Series

An Ottoman Era Town in the Balkans: The Case Study of Kavala presents the town of Kavala in Northern Greece as an example of Ottoman urban and residential development, covering the long period of Kavala?s expansion over five centuries under Ottoman rule. Kavala was part of the Ottoman Empire from 1387 to 1912. In the middle of the sixteenth century, Ibrahim Pasha, grand vizier of Suleiman the Magnificent, contributed to the town's prosperity and growth by the construction of an aqueduct. The Ottomans also rebuilt and extended the existing Byzantine fortress.

The bookuncovers new findings about Kavala, and addresses the key question: is there an authentic "Ottoman" built environment that the town and its architecture share? Through the examination of travellers? accounts, historical maps, and archival documents, the Ottoman influences on the urban settlement of Kavala are assessed. From its original founding by the Ottomans in the late fourteenth century to the nineteenth century when the expansion of tobacco production in the area transformed its prosperity, the development of Kavala as an Ottoman era town is explored.

The book will be of interest to scholars and students interested in Ottoman history and urban history.

Introduction; 1. Formation of Ottoman era towns in the Balkans; 2. History and urban development of Kavala; Conclusion

Velika Ivkovska was born in Skopje, then the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. She is a trained engineer architect and an academician. She completed her doctoral studies at Istanbul Technical University, Turkey and is currently an Assistant Professor at Bahçeşehir University, Turkey. She is a member of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) Macedonia and she actively participates in conferences and seminars concerning the built heritage and its protection and preservation. She has published widely on the architectural, vernacular, and urban environments.