The late eighteenth century of the Ottoman Empire saw the rise of provincial elites (‘ayan), a new class that was unique both in being rooted to a particular geographic location, and in the ability to amass a level of wealth, prestige and power previously impossible for those outside of the palace system. As such, these notables became major architectural patrons, building both mosque complexes and large mansions overflowing with conspicuous consumption, decorated in a style that could be described as “Ottoman Baroque.” This paper will focus on the patronage of one such provincial family, the Çapano?lus of Yozgat (now central Turkey), who transformed their political base, previously a minuscule settlement, into a town of 16,000 inhabitants within two or three decades. The title of this paper comes from a Turkish saying that typically implies a questionable situation; I re-purpose the phrase here, however, to reflect on the political and social aspirations behind the Çapano?lu family’s constructions. Drawing on archival sources such as pious endowment records, I will specifically examine the Great Mosque (1779) and three subsequent neighborhood mosques in Yozgat (Cevahir Ali [1788], Ba?çavu? [1800-1] and Kayy?mzade [1804]) constructed by the members of the Çapano?lu family and their local court. Extensive visual comparison with other contemporary decorative programs as well as with objects found in local museums will allow us to observe how local artisans created unique styles that incorporated local building knowledge with variations on the Baroque—perhaps the first true trans-imperial or “international style” of architecture. My paper proposes possible mechanisms for this trans-imperial transmission of knowledge, whether Christian artisans trained in Europe or portable media such as engravings, textiles, or ceramics. While imperial architecture in eighteenth-century Istanbul also participates in the global Baroque style, the fact that the ‘ayan patrons, because of their non-royal status, did not have direct access to the sultan’s architects, but still aspired to participate in the latest fashions, resulted in creations by provincial artists that are far more exuberant in their improvisation than anything found in the capital. By focusing on the monumental architecture from a new class of patrons, this study aims to complicate the standard top-down model of center and periphery that is so often imposed on Ottoman architecture.