Ergin ÜNVER - Ziraat Yüksek Mühendisi

In the previous issue of our magazine, I gave information about the ahi and guild systems as well as wheat and flour which constitutes the raw material of bread in the Ottoman State. I mentioned that bread was deemed as “sacred bread” and written down the regulation prepared for flour and bread. I shared with you that bread supervisions and punishments due to infractions can be even death sentence. In this part, you can read sections about flour and bread production in Ottoman era and the millers which were established as per regulations.

FLOUR PRODUCTION There were many mills, which were constructed around the rivers located in the lands ruled by Ottoman Empire, and which operated with running water force. Wheat processing technologies were generally techniques of the middle age. Since a great importance was attached to this subject, the number of “Asiyab”s (water mills) and “bab”s (mill stones) in each state was registered to the Cadastral Record Books of the Ottoman State. Each millstone generally consisted of a couple of hard basalt stones of 120 cm diameter, 25cm thickness with a 15cm hole in the centre. The stone in the bottom was fixed, and the upper floor would rotate through the mechanisation of various forces. Sides of millstones, which faced each other, were becoming knobby, and the operation of repairing worn surfaces was called “toothing.” The processing from the center towards the outer sections was ensured by means of special grooves drilled on each stone. These stone mills, were classified under different categories according to their energization mechanisms. 1- Asiyab (water mill), by crashing water to the horizontal wheel, on which upper stone is tied, from 6-8 m. height. 2- Flood mill, by means of bearings, which are connected to vertical pallet cabinets immersed in rivers with strong water flow. 3- Horse mill, with the force of at least two horses, mules or camels. 4- Bad-ı Rah (wind mill) in areas where the wind blows with 29-40 km per hour, by means of propellers. 5- Steam mill, with steam power. 6- Fire Mill, with internal combustion engines. 7- Flour Plant, with electric dynamos.

SULEYMAN THE MAGNIFICENT’S MILL EDICT On the other hand, bakers in İstanbul produced flour, the raw material of their products, in their own horse mills, which are mechanized with two couples of horses or mules. Embassies also produced flour in amounts necessary for them, by means of their small-scale horse mills. The fact that flour produced in these mills is categorized under different classes like “Pure Flour, Bagel and Whole-wheat Flour (Fodula),” indicates that stone ranges were adjusted, and milled material was sieved. In addition to this, there were also rules and codes, which mills had to comply with. Suleiman the Magnificent’s related edict was as follows: “Mills shall be inspected, chickens, which may damage the flour and wheat of citizens, shall not be fed in the mills. They shall breed roosters to tell the time. They shall grind well, avoid fraud, and not change anyone’s wheat. They shall not go to the wilderness leaving their mill unattended, tooth the stones when necessary, avoid taking more than their share, and each person shall grind in accordance with one’s duties .”

Folks living outside the large settlement units such as İstanbul, Thessalonica and Mersin, cleaned their wheat from foreign materials, dried it to a certain extent, and following this, they receive the flour, which is ground in stone mills operating with water power (Black Stone Mill), calculated with 14% production loss, and consume it throughout the year.

The mill was granted with the right to grind 1 bushel (approximately 32 kg) or 18 lucre for every, 20 bushels. The miller ground the store of grain in his own warehouse, sell the amount, which is more than his own consumption needs, and used his earnings for his expenditures. Food needs of citizens living in large settlements were met through importation. Foreign trade of wheat and flour was completely under state monopoly. In Ottoman Empire, it was mandatory to own a land and get permission from the state to establish a mill. The distance between mills had to be minimum 600 ells, and Mill Owners were not allowed create cartels in the sector.

Abdulhamid The First gave an order for the construction of four wind mills between the years 1774 and 1789 for meeting flour needs of the palace, the army and a part of the population. After this, the neighbourhood started to be named as “Yel Değirmeni” (Wind Mill). In the first 10 years of 19th century, industrial products from European countries dominated the domestic market, and the prices increased. For the purpose of meeting flour need of the capital, mills operating with steam power and electricity were established instead of mills operating with the wind, water and animal power, which were used until 1840. Following the establishment of these mills, Hungarians developed grain grinding technique between cylinders, presumably at the end of 19th century, and steel and porcelain roller balls were used between the years 1865 and 1872 at Hungarian mills. Because the buildings of mills were 5-storey structures, the 1st floor was used for transmission, 2nd floor was used for the roller ball or grinding stone, 3rd for pipe, 4th for the sieve, and 5th floor was used for transfer operations. According to my findings, these mills are given below in the order of their year of establishment:

1- Kasımpaşa Flour Mill: The mill received construction permission in 1852 and it was enlarged in the beginning of 1900, and is the first flour mill to adopt new technology by starting production with electric motors.

2- Üsküdar Paşalimanı Flour Mill: The mill, which was constructed with the order of Selim the Third, and which consisted of 24 couples of stone (Asiyab). In 1910, the structure was restored in accordance with the new technology, and become one of the first mills to make production with electric motors and new technology;

3- Unkapanı Mill Flour: It was a large group of structures, which received its construction permission in 1870, and was established with machines all of which were brought from England. 6-storey mill building of the complex, which was operated by its first owner with steam power, was seized by the state and in 1912 made production as “Principality Mill” and in the 1930’s as “Municipal Mill”. In 1940, while it was operated by private sector again, after fire accident, its wreck together with the land was sold to “Umumi Mağazalar Türk A.Ş. (UMAT) which was established by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the great leader of our nation, in May 7, 1937. There were ruins of a warehouse, a dormitory, administrative buildings, bakery shops, chimneys, cinema, cistern and mill of the complex all of which reflected the cultural values of the period. When it was waiting to be repaired in accordance with the original structure, the land on which the mill was located, was expropriated by the municipality in 1959, and sold to the “Istanbul Manufacturers Market (İMÇ)” Cooperative. The factory was demolished and İMÇ was constructed on the area. The other sections of the mill along with its oven, cultural remains such as the cinema, was handed over to İstanbul Commercial Exchange by tender, and have been used as a parking area;

4- Corpi Mill Flour: The available literature reveals that, in the late 19th century, there were six steam-powered flour mills in İstanbul, and the second flour mill in Unkapanı was Corpi. However, I would like to state that, I could find no other information on this subject. On the other hand, I came up with the document “Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects Bulletin 45/November 2006 industry heritage”. According to the information in this document, Sultan Mahmud the Second, assigned “Sir William Fairbairn,” one of the famous engineers of England in that period, to modernize big industrial establishments. Meanwhile, he gave an order to Seraskier Halil Pasha for the construction of a flour mill, which operates with steam power, and which is made of iron in order to be protected from fire accidents, which occurred very frequently in Istanbul during the period. In 1840, a 3-storey building in 15x7,5 meters dimensions was manufactured, assembled in London, and was brought to Istanbul after the demonstration. I suppose that this factory, which was called “Military Factory,” must be “Corpi”;

5- Göksu Mill Flour: It is a mill, which was built on Göksu stream with three storeys and saddle roof, operated with water power contrary to the above-mentioned mills. While it was operated by Ottoman Greek lady Papakiryako, and her proposal to purchase steam-powered machinery was rejected in 1896. In 1893, the factory halted production due to various factors such as hydrophilic “Elmalı Bend”s decreasing water flow amount of Göksu stream, and incapability to operate large boats used in transportation as a result of the flood disaster in 1905 and decreased depth resulting from heavy rains.

6- Ayvansaray Mill Flour: The plant was constructed as a stone mill in 1872, and operationalized and enlarged in 1885.

In addition to the above-mentioned facilities in Istanbul and other Ottoman cities, there were plants operating with new technologies. For instance, “Allatini” flour mill in Thessaloniki, was established in 1843, by Moise Allatini, who took the name of Aziz Ahmet Efendi after he converted to Islam. When the plant burned as a result of the fire accident in 1898, a new factory, which was the largest production plant of the Balkan Peninsula with 200 employees and 100 tons of wheat output, was constructed. The plant which was the third mill in the region, met a vast majority of Turkish Army’s flour need. Overthrown on April 28, 1909, Sultan Abdulhamid the Second, was transferred from İstanbul to Thessalonica, and domiciled to Allatini Palace. And this villa was purchased on behalf of the sultan in exchange for donating all of Sultan’s personal fortune to the army.

I would like to quote the trade manifest dated June 1320 (904) for the equipment to be purchased for “Dakik” (flour mill), which was planned to be constructed on the river in Kaleardı district of Bayburt town in the city of Erzurum, to inform readers about the materials used in flour mills during the period: 1 full set of 60 horsepower tribune; 2 pieces of full striped cylinder (roller), size no.three; 2 pieces of full set tile cylinder; size no.three; 1 piece of cleaning machine with cylinder; 2 couples of bevel wheels for the driving of grinding stones; 1 piece sieve for cleaning wheat; 5 pieces of steel guard in 5-meter length; 4 pieces of irrigation balls and wheels; 1 piece of wheel house made of pankos tree; 140-meter transfer belts, 70-meter elevator belt made of hemp; Silk gas for 180-meter sieve. Same as original. June 12, 1320 (June 25, 1904).

BREAK PRODUCTION After its establishment, the Ottoman State ruled over various nations, which were annexed with conquests in Asia, Europe and Africa continents, and imposed taxes on them. However, the state did not intervene in their lifestyles and religious beliefs. A governor and a council were assigned for administrative purposes only, and the public continued living in line with regulations of the state. In 1699, a total surface area of the lands, which Ottoman State ruled over was 24 million square meter, while total population was 35 million 350 thousand in 1884. In 1896, İstanbul’s total number of Muslim and Christian residents was calculated as 873 thousand 565 hundred persons. On the other hand, Istanbul was among the most crowded cities in the world, and reached to the top in the list of most densely populated cities in a few years. During these years, Istanbul’s daily wheat need was approximately 200 tons, flour and cereal trade was under the monopoly of the state and supplied from Unkapanı, which was the local supply center as per the state orders.

In that period, bakery ovens were structures, which were constructed with domes and chimneys, and bottoms coated with fire-resistant “samat” or “fire brick.” Some of these bakeries are still used today. The number of personnel would be adequate for the capacity of the bakery, with “Bread Master (Habbazin-i Hassas), cookers, dough makers, sievers and other helpers. The oven’s bottom would be constructed at a height, which would allow cookers to work while standing, and the oven was heated with the wood fire in the interior section close to the front side. There was a spout with an iron cover in a size which allows transferring the smoke to the chimney and dough to the oven. After woods turn into cinders, they are pulled to a side within the oven. The bottom was cleaned with a clean, wet mat attached to the edge of a stick long enough to reach all sections of the dome, and after this, the cover would be closed. Meanwhile, globs cut from the leavened dough kneaded by dough makers, were weighted, shaped and placed on the clean clothes on the panel strips. Finally, the cooker took the completely fermented material on the wooden shovel and transferred it to the heated oven. Since equipment, which checked the temperature, were not available in the ovens of the period, the workers involved in production process were expected to be knowledgeable and experienced. On the other hand, since bread, the most important food product, caused bloody uprisings due to price increases and poverty, it would be useful to examine professional bread production bakeries separately. These bakeries are, respectively: Palace, Army, Imaret, Consulate and Public Bakeries.

1-Palace Bakeries: Two types of flour were produced for being used in these structures. The first is white and high quality “Fine Flour” which was produced by processing the wheat supplied from Bursa at water mills in the vicinities of Göksu stream in Beykoz, and the other was “Fodula,” produced from wheat brought from the Balkan Peninsula. Fodula was also classified under different categories such as “Harci”-medium- quality, and “Meyane” (Roux)-low quality. In “Fine Flour Bakeries,” “Fine Breads” were prepared for the Sultan and his relatives, quests, and his entourage such as high-degree viziers, and the grand vizier. Also, nice-looking and more delicious bread with different aroma were served by adding different substances such as gum mastic, aniseed, clove, and by sprinkling sesame, black cumin on the kneaded dough. While bread produced from flours, which are the medium quality sections of Fodula, were served to middle-class members of the palace, and low ranked individuals such as apprentice boys were served with hard bread produced from brown flour called “meyane”.

2- Army Bakeries The duty of these bakeries was to produce two kinds of bread for soldiers from only “Fodla flour.” The personnel to work in manufacturing were chosen among individuals, who grew up in a civil environment, and they were paid by both İstanbul and the army. Persons, to whom bread from army bakery was to be provided, would be determined according to the law, high ranked individuals would receive white bread from medium quality “Harci” flour, low ranked individuals would receive brown-black coloured but delicious ration produced from low quality “Meyane” flour. These bakeries also adopted the procedures of the palace. In the Ottoman Empire, the state would generally decide to start a military campaign in spring months, and some of the bread makers were chosen to set out with the army. Those who did not join the army or escaped were punished with strict penalties. During the campaign, the cortege would walk an average of 15km daily, and meal including 320 grams of bread, 160 grams of rusk, 200 grams of mutton, 160 grams of rice and 80 grams of butter were provided to each person two times a day. Bread, the most important food product, was prepared early by informing areas where the army would pass, or cooked in army bakeries if conditions permitted, and otherwise, rusk was served to them. THE END.