Safranbolu

Safranbolu the Economy

        Agriculture          While studying the houses of Safranbolu, their spaciousness; their regular and steady construction; the wealth of their spatial organization; their large gardens with numerous fruit trees and ponds (either in open air or within pavilions); the fact that each family owned a summer and a winter house; plus the dignity, elegance and self-esteem of its people, all induce us to search for the causes of this prosperity.

        As a result of the self sufficient economic system prevailing in the city, each family produces its own food. This consists of vegetables, fruit and food which is prepared and stored for seasonal consumption. Meat, oil and sugar is purchased from elsewhere. Most people of Safranbolu own fields in the vicinity of the city. Formerly, there were extensive rice fields on the land where the Iron and Steel Factory is now situated. Wheat, barley, rice and straw came from these fıelds cultivated by the sharecroppers.

Saffron:

        As the city takes its name from this flower and as it is still grown in the area, it will be appropriate to dwell in more detail on saffron. A member of the iridaceae family, saffron is a bulbous plant, in many ways resembling colchicum, with its pinkish purple flowers. It blooms in the months of September and October. The tips of its female organ (the stigma) are picked at dawn. The plant flowers a year after being planted. After its flowers have been picked for two succeeding years, the plant is rooted out. Tips gathered from 100,000 flowers add up to only a weight of 1 kg.

Utilization:

        Having dyeing and medicinal properties, saffron is used in pharmaceuticals, dyeing and also as a flavouring in cooking. It is capable of colouring water a hundred thousand times its weight.

History:

        Homeros and Hippocrates refer to saffron. It has been cultivated in Iran and Kashmir for ages. The Mongolians introduced saffron to China, the Arabs to Şpain and the Crusaders to the rest of Europe. In Ancient Greece and Rome it was chewed for its essence and medicinal properties and was also used as a dye.

Areas of Cultivation:

        Saffron is grown in Spain, France, Sicily, the outskir of the Appenines, Iran and Kashmir. In Turkey it is cultivated in Istanbul, Safranbolu, Adana and Bilecik. In three of the villages of Safranbolu (Ak Oğulveren and Davutobası) some of the families are still engaged in its production. Economy: Satisfactory records regarding the economic value of saffron beginning of this century have not yet been revealed. We know that at the end of the 19th century the October harvest of saffron was exported to Syri Egypt from Safranbolu. In 1923, 3200 Ottoman liras worth of saffron was sold to Ankara and Istanbul. Today, because the saffron grown in Turkey does not suffice to meet the internal demand, it is supplemented by imports.

Animal Husbandry

        In general, each household in the city owns a cow which is mainly kept for its milk. Every morning the herd is collected by a cowherd. The Angora goat is the most extensively husbanded animal in the area. Yogurt and butter are produced from milk. The male animals are preferred for slaughter. In Safranbolu, it is not customary to consume mutton. In autumn, "kavurma" a braised preserved meat, is prepared from goat's meat, to be consumed during the months when no fresh meat is available. Animal husbandry is also important for the other by-products: wool, hair and hide. One other important area of production in the old times was bee-keeping exercised on the high plateaus. Honey was used as a substitute for sugar while honeywax was exported. Honeywax was also utilized locally as a subsidiary element by the shoe-makers.

Leather Manufacturing

        The most significant area of production in Safranbolu was leather and leather goods. There is no records as to when leather production actually began in Safranbolu. It can be assumed however that the valley of the Tabakhane stream has been used for leather-tannig, being extremely suitable from many aspects: the topography both conceals the unattractive sight of the tannery and prevents the unpleasent odours from reaching the mean settlement areas while the stream provides a natural recipient for contaminated water. The Ottomans were at a considerably advenced level in leater manufacturing until the end of the 18th century. Mordtmann notes that leather manufacturing had an economic value for Safranbolu in 1852 and 84 tanneries are listed in 1890. Considering that the population was around 7500 during the same period, leather tanning appears to be a very intensive area of manufacture. Being somewhat protected from external influences along with the delayed impact of industrialization on leather manufacturing this line of production continued to prosper in Safranbolu up to the middle of the 20th century. Although the guilds were abolished by law in 1910 it was quite some time before their influence within the traditions died out. Later the export of partly treated leather to Europe became profitable and many a rich merchant emerged from amongst those in this trade. According to the booklet published by the Safranbolu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 415 workers were employed in a hundred tanneries. 430 people worked as shoe-makers, slipper-makers and in leather tailoring. Semi-manufactured leather of various kinds, graded from very fine to coarse leather worth 84.600 Ottoman liras were exported while 17.900 Ottoman liras worth of glazed and patent leather was imported from Europe. Hides of cows, bulls, goats and sheep worth 56.000 Ottoman liras were purchased from the area. There were 16 merchants dealing in leather goods in general and 5 merchants dealing specifically in footwear. During the same years the Safranbolu Tanners Company was about to complete a leather factory which unfortunately functioned for only a very short period. The change of fashion in footwear and the mass production of less costly rubber shoes for the villagers decreased the importance of shoe making. The semi-manufactured leather products products could not compete with the products of the factories established in various places in Anatolia. Finally, the establishment of the nearby Iron and Steel Factory nearly brought an end leather manufacturing.

The Tannery:

        It is situated within a valley along a stream, the Tabakhane which means tannery. It has its own mosque and coffee-house. The chemical content of the water springing from beneath the mosque is suitable for tanning. The hides left in natural or man-made pits alongside the valley mature within a certain period of time. Tanning is a time consuming and wearying job. Those working in this field were organised within the guild system. The best raw hides gathered from the area were transformed into leather of the finest quality after being treated. Traditional methods were employed in leather treatement. Today there are two workshops using the traditional methods which operate from time to time along with two others utilizing machinery. The leather treated in the tanneries was purchased by the shoemakers, saddlers and manufacturers of leather goods.

Arasta (market place):

        The makers of lights shoes (yemeniciler) were gathered in the arasta in their self-owned shops. There were a total of 46 shops in the arasta. Three to five people worked in each of the tiny shops. Hung on strings, the light-shoes were exhibited in the shops. Several types of shoes for men, women and children were produced at the beginning of the century. These were mainly sold to shoe-merchants coming from the neighbourhood, who arrived in Safranbolu with lots of animals and bundles. On Saturday afternoons the shoe makers packed the shoes which they had produced during the week into baskets and sold them to the wholesalers, who usually dropped by once every two weeks. In spite of the hard work which sometimes kept them busy until dawn, the shoe makers never became rich, but managed to sustain a modest life. Payments to the tanner were due every November. Money was not used until then.

        During the War of Independence it was Safranbolu that supplied a great part of the army's need for footwear. This alone is sufficient evidence of the effectiveness of its shoe-making trade. In 1923, 15000 Ottoman liras worth of shoes were sold to the neighbouring towns and villages. In 1975 there were a few shops still operating in the arasta. Saddlers and Leather Workers: Horses and donkeys which were important means of transport were used in great numbers in and Safranbolu 46. For this reason saddle and harness making was a common field of production. The producers of saddles and harnesses were gathered in two separate streets in the çarşı, called "semerciler içi" and "saraçlar içi", names denoting the crafts excersised within. It is known that in 1923 there were 120 people engaged in saddle-making. There still are a few saddle-makers today.

Farrier

        As each household owned at least one or two saddle-horses, there was a suffıcient number of farriers engaged in horse-shoeing.

Ironmongery

        Ironmongers, which even today exist in the market area, were in a well established branch of activity in the old days. Farming equipment, metal parts of harnesses, tools for wood and leather working, household utensils, tools and building elements such as axes, adzes, gimlets, hammers, nails, screws, hinges, locks, door handles, door knocks, iron hooks for window shutters latches and hooks etc...used in building construction were manufactured in the ironmongers' market.

Coppersmiths

        Safranbolu was the copper market of the area. The shops which sell ready-made copperware today formerly produced all these themselves.

TRADITIONS, CUSTOMS AND RELIGION

        The philosophy of life inspired by traditions, customs and religion is to be content with very little. People of Safranbolu are thrifty; they have no tendency for luxury. Simplicity is everywhere. They sit and work on the floor, sleep in laid on the floor and eat at low tables. There is not much furniture in the homes. Even ornamentation is mostly limited to the properties such as color and texture of the materials used, thus preserving their natural appearance. Consequently it is difficult to tell a rich man's house from a poor man's. In spite of simplicity, however, there is an evident abundance. Food is plentiful and lots of variety; rooms are many and large; even their houses are double, It is a healthy, problem-free society all in all.

Harem-Selamlık (Women's Quarters-Men's Quarters):

        Religion and traditions close the house to the outside world. For this reason the gardens and interiors of houses are separated from the streets by high walls; the windows are latticed. Women are not seen by men outside the household. Sometimes, even in the same house, men and women live in separate quarters. There are examples of such houses in Safranbolu, divided into men's and women’s quarters (selamlık, harem). Usually, it is only the very rich who can to have this spatial organization. The Hacı Memişler summer house is comprised of a harem and selamlık built side by side. Among the examples studied in this book, the Kaymakamlar house is unique in that it is provided with separate entrances for the harem and selamlık quarters, on different floors and openings onto different streets. In the Hacı Salih Paşa house also, there two separate entrances and staircases for the harem and selamlık quarters. In other houses although there is a single entrance, a room which is easily accessible from the staircase, without unnecessary intrusion into the family life, is used as a selamlık. The selamlık rooms are treated with special care. In the older examples these rooms have top windows and their ceilings are decorated in a more sophisticated manner.

The Revolving Cupboard:

        As in the old days, it was not desirable that a woman be looked upon by a man from outside the household, even in her own home. Therefore special arrangements were made to secure her privacy. One of these was the revolving cupboard, designed so as to enable serving the men in the selamlık from the harem quarters, without being seen. The plates, tableware or cups used for serving food, coffee, syrups etc. were placed on the shelves of this revolving cupboard which was built in a cabinet between the harem and selamlık quarters, with doors opening to both sides. After turning the cupboard manually, anything on the shelves could be fetched from the other side. This design shows how the houses which do not have separate harem and selamlık or separate servants for each, conform to traditions.

The Selamlık Pavilion:

        Some houses have a separate selamlık pavilion in their gardens with one or more rooms. In most of them, there is a pool in the main sitting area. Pools are also to be found in the selamlık rooms on the middle floor of some houses. There are such pools in both of the "şehir" houses of the Asmazlar. The parapet wall is about 50 to 60 cms from the floor. There are divans (sitting platforms) along the walls on all three sides. In the selamlık pavilion of Kurtlar summer house there is a raised platform with pillars along the window wall and a small fireplace for making coffee at one end of the pool-room. The pavilion has two separate rooms and a toilet-washroom. The windows are unglazed. The main floor with the pond is the ground floor. In the Rauf Beyler house at the Bağlar district there is a very impressive pavilion. Its strictly symmetrical plan has an almost unique architectural concept with its two rooms with an eyvan in between; its large pool surrounded by divans and the beautifully decorated ceiling of the pool room which has a span of 8 metres. The selamlık pavilions open onto the garden which is entered through a separate street door. When the garden pavilion consists of a single room with a pool it is simply called "the pool room". Usually these rooms -which contain a pool, a fountain, divans and occasionally a small fireplace for making coffee- have a polygonal plan. In some houses in the Bağlar district which do not have spring water, the pool is replaced by a well, in which case the space is called the "well-room". With the divans on all sides, these rooms have the same refreshing function as the pool-rooms. Drinking water and fruits are chilled in the well.

Ablution

        The Moslem religion demands that ablution should be performed five times a day, before each ritual prayer. There are washrooms and ablution closets within the house for this purpose. Each room, which is the basic living unit is provided with an area and facilities for the performance of total ablution; a well thought- out solution from the point of view of the intimacy of family life. Considering the close relation between the two, the toilet is generally combined with the wash-room. As a consequence of traditions, water used for washing dishes is never mixed with the sewage. It is either collected in a separate pool or runs freely through a wooden gutter into the garden. No specific space has been allocated for worship within the house. It is believed that the ritual prayers (namaz) can be performed anywhere that is clean enough.