The tales of two sacred buildings in urban pattern of a transportation hub: the case of Üsküdar, İstanbul

Üsküdar is one of the oldest settlements in Istanbul dating back to the early Ottoman period and the primary transportation hub of the modern city. The area is at the intersection point of bulk sea transport and underground system besides heavy motor traffic and pedestrian movement. Being by-the-sea has supported the district's function in terms of transportation and recreation facilities. There is a great square, which is defined by significant historical monuments and underground stop entrances, allows considerable pedestrian flow through the area. The aim of this study is revealing the changes in the urban form of Üsküdar throughout time and the effects of two constant sacred buildings as a significant role on users' daily lives today. For this purpose, firstly the morphological changes in the urban pattern of Üsküdar are demonstrated on the building and plot differences in the urban tissue and space syntax as a quantitative method is used to define the configuration of the urban structure in relation with the two monumental historical mosques. Secondly, the architectural structures of the two mosques examined as different systems from courtyard and surrounding of the buildings. According to this perspective, visibility graph analysis and related data sets on user behaviour are used. Moreover, the pedestrian movement pattern data in the area is collected in three different time periods during the weekday, weekend and also pray time on Friday. To conclude, this study combines different data sets, observations and analytical methods to explain the morphological character of the historic area and the influence of the Friday mosques on users' everyday life independent from their functional usage.