The Tanzimat period is seen as a golden era of urban renewal. The communities of the Ottoman Empire were able to build or repair schools, churches, hospitals, and impressive private mansions. Numerous towns and cities, already attractive havens for the wealthy upper class, were transformed into modern urban centers. The ruling classes competed for the right to adorn their hometowns with elegant contemporary buildings, an undisputed statement to their wealth and the imported innovative European ideas and technological achievements. Approximately twenty Government Houses from this period survive across Greece, quintessential symbols of the state’s power and glory.