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Abstract: Cadastral maps, in the strictest sense, appear in Turkey only after the second half of the twentieth century. However, for several cities of the Ottoman Empire (Istanbul, Bursa, Izmir) plans from the nineteenth century with characteristics similar to those of cadastral maps do exist and were produced following catastrophic events (fires, earthquakes). In the case of Istanbul, the oldest parcel maps date from the middle of the nineteenth century and had been drawn up – for sections of the city – following fires. In fact, from this period, after the fire in a district, the reconstruction process was no longer intended merely as the rebuilding of the preexistent urban fabric. The land was expropriated by the state and, after the elaboration of a new urban plan, it was redistributed among the original proprietors. At the beginning of the twentieth century, another type of map appeared: the insurance cadastral maps. In anticipation of possible fires, as to insure buildings and establish insurance premiums, these documents compiled useful information, including the surface of the various units and their usages. These different cadastres, be they antecedent or subsequent to the fires, provide us with images of a city nowadays almost completely disappeared.