Anatolian Weights and Measures Ottoman Units of Length The
fundamental unit of length in the Ottoman Empire was the arşın.
Three types of arşın were used: the mimari arşın (architect's
arşın), the çarşı arşın (market arşın) and the endaze. The
mimari arşın was 75.8 cm, longer than the other two, and so
named because it was used for measuring land and buildings. It
was also known as the bina arşını (building arşın). One twenty-
fourth of an architect's arşın was called a parmak, one twelfth
of a parmak a hat, and one twelfth of a hat a nokta. In other
words one architect's arşın equalled 24 parmak, 288 hat and 3456
nokta respectively. The metric equivalents of these units are as
follows: 1 architect's arşın = 75.8 cm 1 parmak = 3.158 cm 1 hat
= 0.263 cm 1 nokta = 0.0219 cm Arşın measuring rods were made of
boxwood, ebony, ivory, iron or steel, and graduated in parmak.
For excavation purposes, another unit of length called the
kadem, half of the architect's arşın and equivalent to 12
parmak, was used. The kulaç