Cihanoğlu family

The Cihanoğlu were a powerful and wealthy derebey family that dominated the Aydın Güzelhisarı and Koçarlı regions in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Returning from the siege of Rhodes, Suleiman the Magnificent passed with his army through this area, which was inhabited by a Turkish tribe numbering about 250 people.

[5] An important feature that draws attention as a hallmark in the family's 18th century works is that they pioneered Turkish baroque architecture.

Indeed, the baroque style, which would become a part of the architectural landscape with the works of the Balyan family in Istanbul only 70–80 years later, in the mid- 19th century, was applied in Aydın by the Cihanoğlu long before.

They are credited with the introduction in Anatolia of the new Ottoman taste of art (infused with Western influences, especially from Baroque and Rococo).