**1. Introduction**

In the early times of Islam, mosques were at the center of the city, along with cultural, social, political, and economic activities. They were the focal point of public settlements and also the center of all social life. Masjid an-Nabawi, also known as the Prophet's Mosque, sets an example for the construction of many mosques, and it is not only a place of worship, but also a management and education center where legal, commercial, and social issues are discussed, diplomatic receptions and meetings are held, the state treasury is protected, and religion is taught. The marketplace, which is thought to be an effective tool for inviting masses to Islam, is located close to the mosque at an appropriate distance (Koçyi ˘git 2013). When we look at the Seljuk period in Anatolian history, we see that the mosques fulfill more than one function, as in the Masjid an-Nabawi. Until assemblies and divans (high government ministries) were established, mosques served many functions, such as providing a place for discussing administrative matters, holding courts, preserving the state treasury, providing education, as well as functioning as gathering places, quarantine areas in cases of epidemic and immigration, and defense areas in case of war (Akın 2016). Similarly, it is known that the marketplace was located near the masjids in the Seljuks,

**Citation:** Kepenek, Bü¸sra Selin, Engin Kepenek, and ˙ Ibrahim Bakır. 2022. Trade and the Mosque: An Investigation of Commercial Activities and Mosques in Antalya with Spatial, Legal and Functional Recommendations. *Religions* 13: 958. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13100958

Academic Editors: Fátima Matos Silva, Isabel Borges and Helena Albuquerque

Received: 3 August 2022 Accepted: 8 October 2022 Published: 12 October 2022

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**Copyright:** © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

and those who came for the Friday prayer did their grocery shopping there (Hasan 1985). Likewise, Ottoman cities consisted of neighborhoods that developed around mosques and bazaars (Faroqhi 2000). The mosque, which is the focal point of this city system, is the main spatial element, and it undertakes functions beyond its religious purpose and the services gathered around it (Cerasi 1999). This system reached its peak with the kulliyes.

"Kulliye", meaning a group of buildings consisting two or more units with different functions, is derived from the Arabic word "Kulli", which began to be seen during the Seljuk period in Anatolia; it became widespread in the period of Beyliks and was one of the main institutions of the Ottoman culture (Ha¸stemo ˘glu and Kepenek 2018) The kulliye, the focal point of which are mosques and madrasas, include units, such as infants' schools, public baths, public fountains, caravanserai, and bazaars. Income generating shops, land, and residences are included in the kulliye. The trade function that the mosque offers near or within itself is not only due to its spatial setup, but also it is function as a revenue source designed to satisfy the service, maintenance, and repair expenses of the mosques and social services (Cezar 1985) There are examples of mosques located in kulliye and adjacent to or near commercial buildings, such as bazaars, marketplaces, and covered bazaars built for this purpose (Figures 1–3).

**Figure 1.** (**a**) Isparta Firdevs Bey Mosque and its covered bazaar (bedesten); the mosque and commercial unit are located close to each other (**b**) Tokat Takyeciler Mosque and its covered bazaar; the mosque and commercial unit are located adjacent to each other.

**Figure 2.** (**a**) ˙ Izmir Ba¸sdurak Mosque is located at the lower level of the large-scale commercial unit (**b**) Afyon Yoncaaltı Mosque, where small-scale commercial units are located at the lower level.

**Figure 3.** Sokullu Mehmet Pa¸sa Külliyesi, with the colored areas indicating the mosque and commercial buildings (adapted with permission from Necipo ˘glu 2005).

In the period between 1923 and 1950, which came after the establishment of the Republic, a new state was built, and all institutions were restructured. The new state that was established needed new buildings but, due to economic problems and the scarcity of building materials, they could not be built, and the existing buildings were used for functions that were deemed necessary (Obuz 2017). In the following years, with the industrialization movements of Turkey, a rapid migration from the village to the city started. Intense population growth caused unzoned urbanization and irregular construction and, therefore, the number of mosques, which were compressed in the dense urban fabric, increased rapidly. Mosques tended to integrate with their sub-units rather than the surrounding units. For the visibility of the mosque, functions, such as a bazaar and a car park, were added to the lower floor by raising the mass (Duysak 2000). Mosques, which started to undertake different additional functions in line with both financial and environmental needs and trends, have been interpreted with different perspectives within the society, administration, and laws, and have become a subject of discussion. Discussions were not limited to the spirituality of mosques, but developed in many ways, such as urban rent, deterioration of functionality, and proportional imbalances between the building and its surroundings. This situation is seen not only in mosques built by the public, but also in mosques built by the state. The Kocatepe Mosque program, which stands out as the largest mosque project to be built in the Republican era, includes a place of worship, a courtyard, offices of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, a library, a conference hall, commercial offices, administrative units, and parking lot (Türkiye Diyanet Foundation 2016). The fact that there is a supermarket under the mosque paved the way for the trade and religious buildings including the small place of worship (Figure 4).

**Figure 4.** Ankara Kocatape Mosque.

In Turkey, the Directorate of Religious Affairs does not have a legal function or responsibility regarding the construction of mosques; it only appoints and supervises personnel if it is deemed appropriate for existing mosques. Meeting the need for mosques was left to the public through waqfs and associations, so it led to the emergence of structures that were not original, could not meet the public's needs, and which were forced to evolve differently at later periods. Projects presented as solutions to solve these problems have led to different architectural debates on several topics, such as identity and style. The number of financial discussions about mosques is rather limited. Among them, Onay's 2009 study entitled "Financing Mosques from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic" investigated the roles of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, waqfs, associations, municipalities, and the public on mosques, and researched which individuals or institutions covered the mosque's expenses. Da ˘gcı (2010) conducted a survey with religious officials, revealing that 37.7% said that the mosque renovations could not be carried out due to financial difficulties, and that 23.5% stated that they had problems, saying "it is not easy to raise money". Kaçar (2020) offered an alternative solution with the work of the Directorate of Religious Affairs Mosque Construction and Maintenance Fund Budget and Accounting System, as it was determined that the construction of mosques and the meeting of their expenses on a voluntary basis, where and how the donor wanted, caused some aesthetic and security issues, along with inability to meet the mosque's needs. This solution is about creating a fund and giving all responsibility to the Directorate of Religious Affairs. Today, a combination of mosques and commercial units is regarded as a solution to the financial problems of mosques. In this study, we explored the results of this preferred solution, attempting to reveal the current relationship between commercial units and mosques and seeking out solutions for the issues complicating the matter.
