Historical Continuities in Turkish Domestic Architecture: Central Asia and Anatolia

Abstract

Anatolia has been a historically important homeland for the Turks. The historical examples of domestic architecture in Anatolia illustrate the synthesis between the ancient construction techniques of the peninsula and spatial configurations of Central Asian Turkish culture. In the light of historical data it can be argued that during the XIth and XIIth centuries, the increasing Anatolian-Turkish population had been in a fruitful cultural interaction with the other communities living in Anatolia. This interaction is also indicated by architecture. Due to its strategic significance Anatolia has been a stage of conflicts throughout history. Therefore it has experienced long periods of political instability. In spite of the administrative changes taking place at the upper social strata, the cultural patterns of the masses have been continuous. Architectural products, which reflect the concretizations of culture, are significant sources of knowledge through which this cultural continuity may be revealed. In this context, vernacular architecture becomes the primary source which unfolds the spatial configurations of the historically-contingent folkloric cultures. This study explores the continuity between Anatolian and Central Asian Turkish cultures through relevant architectural examples and aims to unfold the continuities between these cultures by proposing a new conceptual framework for comparison and evaluation.