1870 The Great Beyoglu Fire

Beyoglu, where is beyond the Galata district and in the place between the Tunnel and Taksim, has always been a significant, valuable and different place in the history of Istanbul. Until the ages of the Ottoman Empire, Beyoglu hosted a lot of states or colonies and developed with them. However, the situation and substructure to today was naturally formed in the Ottoman times. The most important reason for this is the Great Fire of Beyoglu. This fire is also called as Beyoglu Harik-i Kebir. This fire which occurred in 1870 (Hijri 1287) was a great fire that caused Beyoglu to be constructed from the beginning and the environment to be arranged. In this fire, a lot of people became homeless and they lost everything they had. Ottoman government worked hard on the problems of people and established aid commissions. Moreover, the aids from abroad were accepted. As this fire was a great social and economic event, it also became nearly international. In this study, the Great Beyoglu Fire, the events after, and the cautions taken by the Ottoman State is examined according to the Ottoman archival documents and newspapers of the period.