It is known that the Turks settled systematically in Anatolia starting from the 12th century. During the migration, which started in Maveraunnehir and Khurasan due to Mongolian pressure and ended in Anatolia, three elements İçkale, Şehristan and Rabad of the Eastern cities were brought to the West. In fact, the Turks didn’t spend much effort to apply the three-elements of city model in Anatolia. Rather, they adopted the city textures of the Byzantium and Hellenistic Era as they were. Consequently, the singular elements like mosque or market look more significant, rather than the three-elements of city model of the Eastern World.Actually, neighborhood is given prominence as the main element that determines the urban open spaces and the main unit that forms the urban texture in Anatolian Turkish cities. It provides spaces for facilities like mosque and market and constitutes the main urban open space texture of the city, through the coincidental squares, dead end streets and courtyards it contains.In particular, the house and its courtyard are the essential cell of the neighborhood and the urban texture. At this point, it is seen that the strong family structure of the Turks has an important effect on the social and physical appearance of the open spaces of the city. The house, when the hierarchical structure of the society is also considered, naturally resembles a small castle and happens to be the starting point of the public life where the women are totally excluded from the public eye. The fact, that women spend most of their lives in the house and courtyard, appears to be the main reason, which decreases the intensity of use of the urban open spaces. On the other hand, the market, where women are somehow joined, constitutes the center of the rumors and political debates, and therefore the liveliest space of the Turkish public life. The courtyards of the great mosques represent a tranquil and peaceful space comparing with the rush of the market and the urban open spaces in the Turkish cities appear as the spaces, which generally possess this tranquility
Primary Language | Turkish |
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Journal Section | Article |
Authors | |
Publication Date | December 1, 2012 |
Published in Issue | Year 2012 Issue: 9 |