Multilayered Nature of Ottoman Provincial Architecture and the Ethical Dimension of Restitution: An Experimental Model on the Hacı Kaya Mosque

This article offers a theoretical and applied discussion of how restitution may be re-interpreted for Ottoman provincial mosques by focusing on the Hacı Kaya Mosque in Balıkesir, a structure that still stands today but whose original, first-phase configuration cannot be definitively identified. Due to the absence of surviving evidence for its initial plan, structure, and ornamentation, conventional document-based restitution approaches prove inadequate. Instead, the study proposes a multi-layered, representation-oriented model grounded in ethical, typological, and contextual analysis. Restitution is thus reframed not merely as a physical reconstruction, but as an epistemic practice involving architectural representation, cultural continuity, and spatial memory. The research follows a three-phase methodology. First, it discusses the conceptual and ethical limits of restitution as defined in international charters and academic literature. Second, the historical continuity of Hacı Kaya Mosque is examined using tahrir registers, cadastral data, and oral histories, while spatial clues related to the early phase are traced through the morphological evolution and naming consistency of its neighborhood. Third, a comparative typological analysis is conducted with four early Ottoman mosques in Bursa—Şehabettin Paşa, Şeker Hoca, İsa Bey, and Alaattin Bey—to generate plausible restitution scenarios for the plan layout, roofing type, and spatial organization. The article concludes that restitution should not aim for absolute certainty, but rather operate as an ethical research activity that makes architectural memory visible through alternative representations. The interpretive restitution model developed here provides a flexible and replicable framework for other provincial mosques lacking material or documentary evidence.