Assessing the values and meanings attributed by inhabitants in multilayered rural heritage places: the case of Çavdarhisar

Download
2019
Orhon, Gönül Ayça
Many cities, villages and towns have been described as multi-layered settlements in Anatolia, which has been a settlement for ages. The study focuses on the settlements where rural and archaeological heritage sites overlap. Today, integrated approaches to the conservation of these places are still lacking, and the focus is generally on the values and problems of the ancient city. The heritage values of the recent past are reduced to physical characteristics and the continuity of the settlements is interrupted by interventions. In this context, Çavdarhisar District of Kütahya, which is one of the settlements where the rural and archaeological sites coexist, has been examined in three layers as “ancient”, “recent past” and “present”. In-depth interviews with the inhabitants of Çavdarhisar in order to understand the mutual relationship between the locals and place constitute the essential part of the context that is described “today”. During the interviews, the daily life of the people, building uses, production processes, local narratives and memoirs were examined to reveal the values and relationships that the local people attributed to the heritage site. The physical juxtapositions of the present and the past were assessed through the data collected from the interviews. In the rural settlement of Çavdarhisar, where juxtapositions sometimes turn into conflicts, the visibility of these findings in conservation practices was discussed and evaluated. In this study, the conservation of multi-layered settlements with participatory and integrated approaches is discussed on the basis of the current layer and its users. Because the old village center of Çavdarhisar, which is almost empty today, is tearing off the rural heritage values due to the conflicts between the layers and stakeholders. Recognizing and conserving the recent past and present of the district as well as the archaeological layer is possible by identifying the heritage values and problems of its users directly associated with this layer. This research aims to contribute to the studies conducted on this purpose.

Suggestions

An Informed process for new building design in historic settlement: the case of İbrahimpaşa Village, Cappadocia-Turkey
Binoğul, Beril; Özgönül, Nimet; Conservation of Cultural Heritage in Department of Architecture (2019)
Historical settlements are heritage sites which are formed in time, in accordance with the landform, climate, local materials and traditional living styles which all together specify the original characteristics of that area. They should be able to change and develop according to the needs, while they also maintain the continuity of their original characteristics. In this concept, new buildings in historical settlements is a conservation problem and solutions should be provided to maintain the values of the...
Integration of immoveable cultural heritage to contemporary urban areas: the case of Ankara Castle
Kalpaklı, Ali Sinan; Büyükcivelek, Ahmet Burak; Department of City and Regional Planning (2019)
Cultural heritage buildings and sites are reminiscent of the layers of culture, history and the settlements that have existed in the past. These historic layers are significant as they give us information about our past and guide us to our future, as we coexist with these layers of heritage. Contemporary cities are changing with globalization and rapid urbanization; consequently these cultural heritage areas are being neglected, and losing their existence in everyday life. As cities shift to individualism a...
Traditional Dwellings of Golde (INCESU): A Rural Heritage in the Process of Change
Eken, Esra (2021-09-01)
Golde, officially named Incesu, is a rural settlement located in Aegean Anatolia. Before the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923, Golde hosted both Orthodox Rum and Muslim Turkish communities. Despite out-migration since 1923, traditional life continued in the settlement with a small population that now comprises mostly elderly Turkish people. This paper aims to understand traditional Golde dwelling units by analysing the influence of daily-life practices, customs, traditions and values th...
Upgrading the old: the adaptation of traditional residential buildings to the contemporary life
Avcı, Deniz; Bilgin Altınöz, Ayşe Güliz; Restoration in Department of Architecture (2012)
Traditional residential buildings constitute an important part of Turkey’s cultural heritage. However, in most of the cases, these buildings face with the problems of arbitrary alterations disregarding their values, abandonment, neglect and even demolition. To prevent these problems, they need to be 'upgraded' to the contemporary life, while sustaining their values and cultural significance. During this 'upgrading' process, the most common and important problems are faced with during the re-functioning of t...
Construction techniques and building processes of traditional timber frame Arhavi houses
İlhan, Tolga; Şahin Güçhan, Neriman; Conservation of Cultural Heritage in Department of Architecture (2019)
Traditional Eastern Black Sea region house is a regional subgroup of Ottoman traditional house heritage. Traditional Eastern Black Sea region house differentiates from its counterparts as a response to regional conditions such as; climatic conditions, topography, and availability of resources. They show unique qualities in terms of stone and wood workmanship and represent a regional architectural culture which is formed on a harsh topography and rich flora. Arhavi’s traditional timber frame houses represent...
Citation Formats
G. A. Orhon, “Assessing the values and meanings attributed by inhabitants in multilayered rural heritage places: the case of Çavdarhisar,” Thesis (M.Arch.) -- Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences. Conservation of Cultural Heritage in Architecture., Middle East Technical University, 2019.