The Architecture of Constantinople/Istanbul at the End of the Nineteenth Century: The Work of Periclis D. Fotiadis

ABSTRACT:The nineteenth and twentieth centuries saw major building construction—churches, schools, hospitals, sports clubs, and apartment buildings—that went on alongside the political-administrative reforms of the Tanzimat, and then the infrastructure development under Abdülhamid II. This study sheds light on the lesser-known architects of community construction projects in Constantinople/Istanbul, so as to address questions about their background and the social context in which they lived. To answer these questions, we examine the case of architect Pericles Fotiades, who lived and worked in Constantinople in the last thirty-five years that it was imperial capital. The paper is a biographical essay on Fotiades and his architectural career, but also covers the architectural changes that occurred in Constantinople in the last four Ottoman decades. Finally, the publication presents the various buildings designed by Fotiades as well as his charitable work.