Ottoman 1917 Rental Contract of Bakery İzmir Jewish Citizens Jews Evliyazade Jews Empire

Ottoman Rental Contract for a Bakery in İzmir’s Keçeciler District – Evliyazade Said Bey, 1917

Description:

This original Ottoman Turkish rental contract concerns a bakery located in Keçeciler Mahallesi, İzmir, and is dated 1 Cemâziyelâhir 1335 (23 February 1917). The lessor is recorded as Halil Efendi, acting on behalf of Evliyazade Said Bey, while the tenant is Yuda, son of Mose, a baker residing on Yeni Sokak in İzmir. The document therefore records a commercial rental agreement between members of different religious communities in late Ottoman İzmir.

The document is particularly significant in relation to the Evliyazade family, one of the established and influential families of İzmir during the final Ottoman period and the early years of the Turkish Republic. Evliyazade Said Bey was an important figure in the family's commercial history and is also associated with the development of horse breeding and racing in İzmir. During the Ottoman period, the Evliyazade family maintained extensive properties around Buca, where thoroughbred horses were bred, and Said Bey became associated with the organisation and development of early horse racing activities in İzmir.

The identity of the tenant, Yuda son of Mose, identified as a baker residing on Yeni Sokak, provides an especially valuable social dimension to the document. Keçeciler was one of the areas of İzmir where the Jewish community had a strong presence, alongside Muslim and other communities. The neighbourhood was known for its traditional Jewish residential compounds, often referred to as Yahudihane or kortijo, making commercial documents concerning local Jewish residents valuable sources for studying the social and economic history of İzmir's Jewish community.

The contract also provides a glimpse into the multicultural commercial life of late Ottoman İzmir, where businesses and properties could be rented and operated by members of different communities. As an original legal-commercial document bearing Ottoman stamps and seals, it preserves a direct record of property relations, urban commerce and everyday economic activity in İzmir during the final years of the Ottoman Empire.

For collectors of Ottoman documents, İzmir history, Jewish heritage and commercial ephemera, this rental contract is an especially interesting historical survivor. The combination of the Evliyazade family, a commercial bakery in Keçeciler, and a Jewish tenant named Yuda son of Mose gives the document a rare connection to the intertwined commercial and social history of early twentieth-century İzmir.

Key Features:

• Title: İzmir Keçeciler Mahallesi Bakery Rental Contract

• Document Type: Ottoman Turkish Commercial Rental Contract

• Location: Keçeciler Mahallesi, İzmir

• Property: Bakery

• Lessor: Halil Efendi, acting on behalf of Evliyazade Said Bey

• Tenant: Yuda, son of Mose, baker, resident of Yeni Sokak, İzmir

• Date: 1 Cemâziyelâhir 1335 (23 February 1917)

• Subject: Rental of a commercial bakery property

• Historical Context: Late Ottoman İzmir

• Jewish Heritage: Documents the commercial activity and presence of a Jewish resident in the Keçeciler neighbourhood of İzmir

• Evliyazade Family: Connects the document to one of İzmir's established families, with Said Bey associated with the city's commercial and early horse-racing history

• Stamps & Seals: Ottoman stamps and seals present on the document

• Historical Significance: A primary documentary source relating to property, commerce and multicultural urban life in late Ottoman İzmir

• Collectible Significance: Of particular interest to collectors and researchers of Ottoman legal documents, İzmir history, Jewish heritage, Ottoman commercial history and urban social history

• Condition: Very worn overall, with small missing portions in some areas