The economic role of the Bezestens in the ottoman period: the Bezesten of Thessaloniki
Abstract
This article discusses the economic role of the bezestens, indoor markets that were built in large cities in the Ottoman period and marked the «heart» of the commercial centre.
Their economic role was closely tied up with state control both of prices and of the authenticity of metals and fabrics, as also monitoring the parity between the Ottoman currency and foreign currencies. They were inevitably affected by the crisis at the end of the sixteenth century.
The writer also discusses the architecture of the bezestens, which were invariably vaulted structures built to a square plan.
Regarding the Thessaloniki bezesten, the writer presents the historical data preserved in the sources, which also reveal the economic role played by these markets. An attempt to date the bezestens, finally, gives a general idea of their gradual decline.
Article Details
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Αστρεινίδου-Κωτσάκη Π. (1996). The economic role of the Bezestens in the ottoman period: the Bezesten of Thessaloniki. Makedonika, 30(1), 153–187. https://doi.org/10.12681/makedonika.244
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