The Istanbul Divanyolu.

Ein gutes und sauberes Exemplar. - The book deals with the architectural space of the Divan axis, not only the street now called Divan Yolu but the entire system of streets which formed the thoroughfare from the Topkapi Palace to the city walls. It was the main ceremonial route of Istanbul, stage for the Sultan's stately processions, for the important Pashas' daily transit, but the exhibition of power and magnificence was never sublimated into an overall architectural image. They were enacted on a background of chaotic and lively daily city life. Street composition was unplanned and dominated by variety in form, type and volume. Particularly in the 18th and early 19th centuries when a very interesting and unique urban scene took form, secondary elements such as funerary enclosures and fountains, much more than the principal functional and religious building types which were more traditional in layout and style, were carriers of innovative architecture. The essays define the ideological and aesthetic character of Ottoman urban space and architecture through the analysis of this characteristic segment of the imperial city. ISBN 3899133706