THE TURKISH TOWN
When the Turks arrived in Anatolia the towns were within fortifications. Most
Byzantine cities had by then lost their richness and power. With the arrival of
the Turks these towns were revitalized and started new development. The Turks
which came and settled in groups led by religious leaders established various
quarters. The other religious or ethnic groups also had their own separate
quarters in the towns. These quarters were named either after their religious
leader or after the town or nomadic tribe from which they originated. The
settling down of the nomads was a much slower process. They settled outside the
towns. In this way the towns began to grow beyond the walls in a short time.
This is not a planned growth. Nevertheless the houses which are generally
located in a valley, lean against the slope without blocking each other's view
and do not present a disorderly appearance from the other side of the valley.
The grading of the site has been well calculated. There is one main street which
is the spine of the whole settlement.

The irregular (curvelinear) streets and cul-de-sacs which form the
transportation network branch out in an organic pattern. The streets in town do
not intersect at right angles. Steep streets have been provided with steps. The
street design provides the necessary width and slope either for pedestrians
alone or (else) for loaded animals such as horses or donkeys. The walls at
street corners are chamfered. Traditions require that the walls of the ground
floor as well as those encircling the garden are built high so as to hide and
protect the privacy of life within the house. Consequently, the street is almost
like a corridor with occasional walls of either stone or adobe rising on either
side. The projecting bay windows and eaves of houses and the
branches of trees almost cover the street. Thus these streets are not bare or
consist of piles of stone like in some European towns. The streets do not have a
regular width all along. There are fountains in places where the street widens
or at street corners. The stone-clad streets are paved so as to have a slope
towards the middle from either side. The middle axis has been emphasized by two
rows of large stones. The rain-water runs along this axis and thus the houses
and gardens are protected from flooding. There is no need for pavements, so they
have been omitted. The streets lead to the town centre. Mosques, minarets, a
graveyard with its own cypress grove, tombs, fountains, and big, domed, stone
buildings such as caravanserais, hammams, madrasas and bedestans are located
mostly on flat land in the centre of the town. This area gives a completely
different picture from the quarters of habitation. There is a great difference
of form, colour and texture between the domes cladded with lead and house roofs
covered with tiles. The whole settlement can be viewed against the background of
hills and mountains.

GENERAL APPEARANCE OF THE TURKISH HOUSE
A ground floor closed to the street with a stone or adobe wall and an upper
floor which sits on either load bearing stone walls or wooden studs
characterizes the house type generally seen within the geographical boundaries
where the Turkish house is to be found. The upper floors have a timber frame
construction. The middle floor, if there is one, has a low ceiling and is either
a mezzanine floor or a whole floor. The top floor has, through time, become ever
more lively with several projections and with a multitude of windows which are
of a standard size. In the earlier houses the windows are not glazed, but
eventually, as glass is subject to wide-spread use, windows have glazed panes
opening on either side. Vertical sliding windows (sash windows) emerge only
after Western influence shows up. The
standard size of the window creates a sense of unity with its recurrent rythm,
not only in each house but throughout the town. The roof always slopes on all
four sides. This is one of the main discriminating
characteristics of the Turkish House.

THE EVOLUTION OF FORM IN THE TURKISH HOUSE
In spite of the lack of sufficient data, the evolution of the form of
the Turkish House from the 15th Century onwards can be studied from some of the
oldest examples such as the imperial lodge of the Yesil Mosque in Bursa and some
documents which although not directly related to the Turkish House, bear some
evidence in this respect. The characteristics related to the form of the Turkish
House and its evolution has been best documented in the measured drawings and
restitutions of S.H. Eldem.

According to these studies, although there are no remaining examples, it can
be assumed that houses of the 15th and 16th centuries were single storeyed or
maisonette type buildings. Rooms are lined along an outer sofa. There is an
eyvan between the rooms and a colonade in the outer sofa. The walls are built of
thick adobe. The exterior surface may be either plastered or cladded with glazed
or non-glazed brick. There are in-built closets and cupboards in the rooms and
niches on either side of the hooded stove. Entrance to the rooms is indirect.
Doors are low. Non-glazed windows have wooden shutters. The upper course of
windows provide sufficient light although small in size. Either coloured gypsum
work or painting is used for interior decoration. Most probably the hood of the
fireplace and the niches are also made of gypsum.

The same plan continues in the 17th century. It now becomes more apparent
that the house consists of two storeys. There can sometimes be an intermediate
floor in between. Thick stone or adobe walls encircle the house on all three
sides. There are few windows on the exterior facade. The shutters open into the
thickness of the wall. The colonade of the open sofa which runs along the whole
length of the house either has simple capitals with carved endings or are linked
to one another with Bursa arches. The staircase is in front of the open sofa.
Sometimes there is a flight of stairs on either side, linked to the sofa with a
landing. There is an eyvan between rooms and a raised platform on either end of
the sofa. Towards the end of the century these raised platforms will develop
into projecting rooms with bay windows, thus the sofa will diminish in size.
Sometimes a stove for giving light (ciralik) can take its place on these raised
platforms. The walls of the rooms facing the sofa are built in the timber
frame-infill technique. From the middle of the 17th century onwards, the rooms
begin to project and open onto the street with bay windows. The upper course
windows are small and either have a geometric pattern or are decorated with
designs depicting a mosque, mihrap, mimber, pavillion or cypress trees. In the
less thick walls, window shutters open onto the exterior. By now the projection
wall also has a timber frame construction.

When we arrive at the 18th century, timber frame contruction is applied to
all the walls of the building, thus making it possible to open windows wherever
desired on all four sides. One main difference has occured in the plans: rooms
have been placed around a central sofa. This trend began in Edirne in the second
half of the 17th century and was adopted in Istanbul at the start of the 18th
century. As the number of eyvans increase the sofa can take a T form and open to
the outside or take a crucifix form and remain closed. In the rural areas, open
sofas continued throughout the 18th century. The colonade of the sofa is arched
with lath and plaster and decoratively painted. It was in Edirne that the
colonades of the open sofa first began to be part of an enclosed space. The
kiosk rooms with bay windows project from the sofa. The rooms grow larger and
project in two directions. Thus the mass of the house begins to liven up. The
doors of the rooms are placed in chamfered corners. Cupboards are no longer
inbuilt, they run along the full length of the wall. The fireplaces project out
when the walls are carcass. Long and curvelinear brackets support the
projections. The upper course windows are placed higher. On the exterior
facades, paint is used for making alternating patterns of cut stone or brick. In
time this pattern has been transformed into a decoration of a schematic nature.

Between 1730-40 the Baroque influence is first felt in the decorative branch
of the Turkish Arts. Even if the plan remains the same, gradually, the
components of the building and the room begin to reflect the Baroque form and
decoration very intensely. Paintings on the interior walls, especially within
the framed areas over the shelves, begin to depict bunches of flowers, flowers
in vases, fruits in baskets or bowls, curtains, branches entwined with fme
leaves and furthermore achantes, garlands, volutes. It is also possible to see
the first attempts for perspective drawings. These decorations are rarely used
on the exterior of the building. City scenes are usually painted over the
closet. Red, blue and gold gilt are the best loved colours. On wooden surfaces,
especially on the doors of closets and cupboards Edirne-style oil painted
floral designs are to be seen. Spiral centre pieces are inserted in the
ceilings. The hood of the fireplace is made of gypsum. Occasionally it can be
made of marble, with Baroque curves. Baroque curves have also influenced the
wooden niches. The bay windows are corbelled with lath and plaster and the same
is used to provide a curved surface beneath the large projecting eaves, both
being decorated with colourful paintings. The colonades of the sofas no more
have Bursa arches but are circular or S shaped Baroque arches, with lath and
plaster and painted decoration. The use of lath and plaster allows a smooth
finish between the chamfered surfaces over comer doors and the ceiling. The sofa
is separated from the eyvan with an arched, lath and plastered colonade. Towards
the end of the century the Baroque influence is also felt in the plan and
subsequently the sofa first begins to acquire an oval form in Istanbul.

In the 19th century the influence of the Empire style is felt. This style
simplifies the plan, the facades and the decoration, and curvelinear surfaces
are less used. By now foreign architects have entered the picture, especially in
Istanbul. The simplicity encountered in this period is partly due to the
prevailant economic conditions. Plans with inner sofas are widely used. Central
sofas are abandoned. The Toscan-Doric style engaged on colomns on the facades,
the triangular pediments, circular or flat arches, reliefed binding stones,
pseudo-mouldings and other decoration such as rosettes, garlands, : acanthus
leaves, arms, flags and torches forming coat of arms, musical instruments, vases
and flowers are patterns which define the empire style. The timber frame
construction is either plastered or cladded with wood. There are fewer
projections, the eaves have shrunken and have been cladded with wood. The
windows have grown larger and have increased in number, becoming a determining
module in the layout plan of the house. Windows reach right to the floor in the
sofas and have circular arches overhead. Upper course windows and wooden
shutters have disappeared. Rooms are no more entered from the corners. Raised
gysum frames, occasionally with bunches of flowers relieved inside, begin to be
used on the interior walls. The face of the cupboards is simplified. A
semicircular flower niche with a shelf is placed in the centre. Those niches
which have smaller cells on either side are called "serbetlik".
Inside the niche, either landscapes or wonders of new technology such as trains
and ships are depicted. During the period of Abdulmecid, Baroque decoration
joins the Empire style. During the reign of Abdulaziz decoration is simplified
and the Classical Ottoman style is also revived, even if for a short period. The
room is entered from its centre through a double winged door. A chair-rail
encircles the room all along the walls. The ceilings are plastered and have
landscapes painted on them. Flower niches and others such as "serbetlik"
are less used. Ceramic tile stoves begin to replace the fireplace.

The Abdulhamid era is under the influence of the eclectic style of the
period. Apart from the Turkish architects trained in Europe, foreign architects
have a share in this trend. Even before the Abdulmecid period the influence of
the Neo-Gothic, Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Baroque styles could be traced, first in
the palaces and then in the architecture of the masonry and wooden houses.
During the reign of Abdulhamid a new style of architecture called the
"Erenkoy Style" becomes the fashion. As the name
implies, this style is to be found mostly withinin the summer resorts around
Istanbul. These are houses which resemble the Swiss chalets or the colonial
British houses with their towers, highly ornate, carved out architraves and
balustrades, gable balconies with pediments and shuttered windows.

The Art Nouveau style which was first introduced by the Italian architect
D'Aronco who came to Istanbul in 1854, was used first in stone buildings and
subsequently in wooden houses. It was assimilated and implemented by local
architects and masters with great success, to such extent that a unique Istanbul
Art Nouveau style was created and prevailed until the 1920s. The towers and
gable balconies which were the fashion of the period continued to exist in this
style. Windows were enlarged by placing several of them side by side and the
tops were divided into small squares, decorated with stained glass. This style
was in most cases used alongside the eclectic style of the period. There are
several examples where characteristic features of the Baroque, Ottoman and Art
Nouveau styles can be found side by side. Carved or applied flowers, branches or
creeping vines coexist with straight parallel lines or circular and ellipsoidal
forms.

The fashion of oriental architecture first created by foreign architects by
combining Islamic architectural forms with Classical and specially Gothic styles
was accepted by the Turkish architects from 1920 onwards and continued until the
early years of the republic under the name of Neo- Classical Ottoman style. In
houses built in this style it is possible to find the monumental portals of
Seldjuk and Ottoman architecture alongside Bursa arches, ogeval arches, pointed
arches, wide eaves, epigraphs, framed inscriptions and palmettes, braided
mouldings, niche patterns, stucco stalactites and intermingled stars. In some
examples the corners and centre of the mass is raised and covered with a dome.
These houses may be constructed of wood as well as of stone.

THE ROOMS
The room is the most significant unit in every Turkish House. Each room has
the ability to meet the needs of a couple. It is possible to sit, recline, wash,
eat and even cook in each room. Each room has identical characteristics. The
size may change but not the qualities. These are strictly related to the way of
life which has not changed much through time. Consequently the design of the
room has remained the same. An arrangement which allows for change has been
developed, so as to meet the prerequisites of all the different functions
mentioned above. This arragement has been based on the prevailing customs of the
nomadic times. The tent which was the living unit then has now been replaced by
the room. The tent also has areas which are not strictly delineated, allocated
to different functions. In the room these areas are separated from one another
with partitions, semi-partitions or floor levels. The interior of the room has
been shaped in compliance with the dimensions which human functions nessesitate.
The room can serve different functions as needed, with the very few pieces of
movable furniture it contains. These are immediately put away once there is no
more use for them. The beds are kept in built-in closets, they are layed out
when it is time to go to bed and are put away once again in the morning. When it
is time to eat, the tablecloth, table base and copper tray or wooden tabletop is
taken out of the cupboard and is put away after dinner. The centre of the room
has been left free for this purpose. The divans used for seating are placed
along the walls. The arrangement for eating and sleeping is the same, whether it
be in the palace or the tent. The multipurpose use the room and the
furniture-free surface is also a characteristic of the Japanese house. It is
interesting to note that Japan has not adopted its furniture from China from
which it has borrowed several of its cultural and functional features. At this
point inevitably Central Asia, which is one of the two origins of the Japanese,
is called to mind.

PLAN TYPES OF THE TURKISH HOUSE
The plan of the Turkish house is formed with the arrangement of the rooms
around a sofa. The room is a living unit, the form, size and qualities of which
show a very insignificant difference from one to the other.On the other hand the
sofa is variable with its every characteristic. This is why the house type is
usually defined by its sofa.

The Turkish house plan types were first classified by S.H.Eldem. The most
significant of these, with proper order of development are: Outer sofa, inner
sofa and central sofa types.

Plan Types with Outer Sofa: This is one of the oldest types of the
Turkish House and has many beautiful examples. It has a lot of variety but very
little symmetry .The sofa is exposed to the outside world with no wall to hide
it away. It is an excellent reflection of the Turkish way of life with very
intimate relations with nature and the transition from the nomadic life in tents
to permanent settlements. In good weather and specially in summer the sofa is an
intense living and production area. In this plan layout each room represents a
tent while the sofa stands for the natural environment under partial control. It
is only much later that the colonade of the sofa has been enclosed with glazing.
The richest examples are those with bay windows and eyvans. The corner sofa type
was until recently built with its sofa closed to the exterior. This
plan type continued up to the 19th century .

Inner and Central Sofa types: These came into the picture in the 18th
Century but it was in the 19th century that they were widely implemented. The
population increase in cities resulted with smaller plots with higher values and
consequently this led to a more dense and inward plan. The desire for a more
comfortable life without being exposed to dust and cold and the need to use the
sofa all year round; are among the social reasons of prefering this type. This
compact plan enabled putting in more rooms which when placed side by side,
eliminated the use of a number of walls, thus leading to some economy. According
to one other view the central sofa plan type has been in use since the Central
Asian times and in the Anatolian-Turkish architecture it has been mostly used
in the madrasas, mosques and mansions. From the 18th century onwards it was
revitalized and was first used in the houses of the ruling classes in large
cities and in time also in their environment. In the inner sofa type there is
symmetry only in one direction, while in the central sofa type generally
symmetry can be found in two directions, perpendicular to one another.
