Konya Chamber of Commerce from Yesterday to Today
Konya is a city situated on the historical Silk Road and other important trade routes of the time, acting as a bridge between East and West, and possessing rich cultural heritage and high tourism potential.
Housing Çatalhöyük, the oldest settlement in history, Konya has pioneered in many fields with its ten-thousand-year history; it has always maintained its central city status, particularly in science, culture, and civilization, and has continued this leadership in the economy.
As Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar said, a capital city is always a capital city. Konya, which has always undertaken an important mission throughout history, became a center of intense commercial activity when it served as the capital of the Seljuk state established after conquering Anatolia. The Anatolian Seljuk period was an era of splendor for Konya, the capital city. During this period, which lasted for nearly two and a half centuries, Konya was filled with mosques, madrasas, schools, caravanserais, soup kitchens, hospitals, aqueducts, bridges, palaces, and many other buildings.
In the 13th century, Konya was one of the most modern and well-organized cities not only in Anatolia but also in the world. Especially in the notes kept by those who participated in the Crusades during this period, Konya is described as a large and wealthy city. During this period, Konya, situated on the main road that traversed Anatolia from end to end, was a vibrant trade center, and it continued to be a center of trade, industry, and culture even after the Seljuk period.
The emergence of the Ahi Brotherhood institution in Konya during the 13th century, when Anatolia was under Turkish rule, is a unique feature of our city. The Ahi Brotherhood system, unparalleled in the world, has made a significant contribution to the social, cultural, and economic order of society from the Seljuk period to the Ottoman period and to the present day. With these characteristics, the Ahi organization serves as an example for 21st-century civil society organizations.
During the Ottoman period, production in Konya was carried out by craftsmen and in small businesses. According to the 1889 Yearbook, there were 2078 shops in Konya at that time. The city had 18 inns, 88 bakeries, 4 pharmacies, 7 restaurants, 2 oil mills and 29 water mills, 1 slaughterhouse, 3 tanneries, 1 butcher shop, 3 ice houses, and 7 caravanserais.
Almost every type of craftsman operated in the bazaars and markets of Konya. The fact that each group of craftsmen had its own section, street, square, or market place is an indication that clustering in trade began in Konya during that period. The most important of the bazaars and markets that form the basis of Konya's commercial life are Bedesten, Uzun Çarşı, Muhacir Pazarı, Ağaç Pazarı, At Pazarı, Buğday Pazarı, Kadınlar Pazarı, Saman Pazarı, Aziziye Pazarı, Kömür Pazarı, and Odun Pazarı. The oldest industrial products in our city are textiles, carpets, rugs, silk, linen, coffee grinders, pistols, scissors, all kinds of leather and leather products, shoemaking, linseed, sesame, and poppy seed oils, and gunpowder.
In the Ottoman Empire, after the Tanzimat and Constitutional periods, governments aiming to continue commercial activities in the Western sense took initiatives to encourage them.
Following all these developments, the Dersaadet Chamber of Commerce was established on January 20, 1880, with an 11-article regulation. The first chamber of commerce opened in our country was the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, under the name Dersaadet Chamber of Commerce. The establishment of chambers of commerce outside Istanbul followed the decision of the Dersaadet Chamber of Commerce on November 4, 1881. Following the decision to establish chambers of commerce in Anatolia, the decision to establish the Konya Chamber of Commerce was made by the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce assembly with a decree from the Sultan.
Following this decision, the Konya Chamber of Commerce was established in 1882. The history of the chamber is essentially a summary of the social and commercial history of Konya and our country. Half of the twelve-member board of directors of the first chamber were non-Muslims. After the first four years, non-Muslims became the majority. In its tenth year, 1892, the chairman of the board of directors was a non-Muslim. In Konya, commercial life, parallel to the developments of the Tanzimat and Constitutional periods, was predominantly in the hands of minorities.
The European dominance that began in the political and economic spheres with the Balta Limanı Trade Agreement and the Tanzimat Decree also showed its effect in Anatolia. External contacts with local minorities also affected commercial relations. The influence of minorities, perceived by Western businesspeople as natural allies, in trade and industry increased after the Tanzimat reforms. This can be observed by examining the management lists of the Chamber of Commerce.
Despite its population and commercial capacity, Konya was a city of interest to foreign state representations, with consulates officially opened there. In 1896, Russia and England had consulates in Konya. In 1899, the French Consulate was opened, increasing the number of consuls to three. Later, the German Consulate was added to these three foreign missions.
As of 1908, 130 of the companies established during the late Ottoman period belonged to the local population, not minorities. At that time, 19 companies were established in Konya. Simultaneously with the establishment of these 19 companies in Konya, the "National Economic Bank," the bank with the highest capital at the time, was founded in Konya. In 1909, the Konya elite established a national bank in the form of a limited partnership under the name Şirket-i İktisadiye-i Milliye; its name became Konya National Economic Bank during World War I. These companies, working in great solidarity, mobilized investment and capital in the region, namely Konya and its surroundings.
Konya is located at the intersection of east-west and north-south Anatolian transportation routes, and consequently, routes beyond Anatolia. The arrival of the Berlin-Istanbul-Baghdad line to Konya from 1896 onwards was a significant development.
The Konya Chamber of Commerce, in accordance with its regulations at the time, opened a Commodity Exchange in the center of Konya in 1909. The full name of the exchange was "Commercial, Industrial and Grain Exchange." Its purpose was to "regulate commercial transactions and serve the progress of the country." Initially encompassing the chamber of industry, the addition of the chamber of agriculture as a government policy reduced the minority's influence in management.
By the 1920s, Konya was situated on a railway line connecting to Ankara and Istanbul (north) via Eskişehir; to İzmir (west) via Afyon; and to İskenderun via Mersin and Adana in the southeast. These routes formed the fastest link connecting Konya to centers of trade and learning. Merchants, through the "Railway Campaign," sent goods purchased in Istanbul to Konya.
In 1920, there were 76 joint-stock companies in Anatolia. Konya has the highest number of joint-stock companies in Anatolia, with 19. In the same year, İzmir had 11; Aydın, Bursa, and Kütahya each had 3; Kayseri, Ankara, and Eskişehir each had 2; and Erzurum, İzmit, Afyon, Kastamonu, Niğde, Manisa, and Trabzon each had 1 joint-stock company. The Konya Chamber of Commerce opened a commercial secondary school in 1925 and, alongside stock exchanges, strived to revitalize commercial life with its first exhibition organized according to the modern fair concept.
Until 1926, the Chamber of Commerce operated according to the old laws and regulations. In December 1927, the central administration was strengthened by connecting the six district chambers to the central Chamber of Commerce.
After 1950, the Chamber was restructured in accordance with the new era's understanding of laws and regulations.
On April 25, 1974, the Konya Chamber of Industry was established and began operating in an apartment on the 4th floor of the Konaltaş Business Center, with 165 industrialist members representing 8 professional groups and a budget of 200,000 Turkish Lira.
The oldest known building of the Konya Chamber of Commerce is a two-story building located in Çıkrıkçılar, opposite the Old Tellal Market. It is known to have served in this building from the 1920s to 1953. As the number of members and the scope of service expanded, the Konya Chamber of Commerce moved to the Turkish Aeronautical Association building behind the Central Post Office building in Kayalıpark in 1954. In 1983, the Chamber built its own service building on land it purchased opposite the Metropolitan Municipality and has been operating in this building ever since.
Today, the Konya Chamber of Commerce, with 70 Professional Committees and over 30,000 members, holds the title of the 6th largest chamber in Türkiye.
