Turkmen tribes, who were nomadic during the Ottoman period, started to settle in Safranbolu and its surroundings. The Greeks, the previous inhabitants of the region, were living in the area where they settled. The Greeks who had settled here since Pontus and Byzantium were the natives.
The Turkmens first pitched their tents on the plains and settled here. In time, they saw the houses where Greeks lived. They established communication. Accustomed to living in their tents, the first houses of the Turkmens were simple tent-like houses.
The ground floors were built with mudbrick or stone walls and then roofed with a wooden frame. There were no tiles in the early days. They covered the roof with wooden tiles called ‘hartama’. They completed the wooden first floor with one or two rooms and an open sofa. They arranged the rooms with shelves similar to the interior of a tent, with cupboards and a stove in one corner. The rooms were organized in such a way as to protect them from the cold in winter and the heat in summer. Cabinets and ceilings were decorated with ornaments reflecting all the characteristics of wood.
The stoves were in the form of hoods or carved hoods. At the end of the corridor between the two rooms was the toilet. From the outside, the toilet volume looks like an addition made of flat boards. The open sofa is closed against the outside with lattices. It has no ceiling. The roof covering is visible from below. The top of the staircase exit is arranged as a high sofa. The ground floor is a barn surrounded by stone or mudbrick walls, with a bahna (manger) in front of it. The stables for the animals are located under the rooms, thus helping to keep the family warm.
In Anatolia, Turks chose wetlands and settled there. Safranbolu is also a wetland. There is a big water source in Bulak Cave. It comes to Safranbolu through waterways.
Çarşı
Safranbolu consists of three residential areas. The first region is the Çarşı District. This region, where the first settlements were located, is a region consisting of valleys carved by the streams and deepened by the layers created by sedimentary stratification under water. Sea shells are found on Hasandede Hill.
In Çarşı, production and marketing, and all kinds of production based on handicrafts were carried out. Production, which had been going on since the Seljuks, was carried out in an organized system.
The Çarşı houses, which were the winter homes of the craftsmen working in the guilds, are known to have been built in the 16th-17th centuries and are plan types with open or outer sofas and two or three rooms. Developed in the 18th-19th centuries under the influence of Istanbul, the carnival plan type was applied in ‘large mansion’ type buildings. In mansions, there are guest rooms for the increasing need for guests due to the commercial activities in Çarşı, and this section is called ‘selamlık’.
The selamlık is accessed through the main entrance door of the house and up the selamlık staircase. The harem floor is on the second floor and is connected to the selamlık by a service room with a revolving closet. There is a staircase from this volume to the back street and ‘life’. The ‘Harem Gate’ leads to the outside. Such large mansions were used for mass events such as circumcisions, weddings and mevlit (ceremony). Male guests would gather in the selamlık, while female guests would gather in the harem and eat and have fun in the central sofas.
Çarşı houses have warehouses for dry food prepared in summer. The kitchen is located on the harem floor. The food and hair made with large cauldrons in the boiler stove in “life” are carried up the harem staircase. Çarşı houses also have a function as warehouses for shops. Craftsmen from the same guild live in the same neighborhoods. Some dead-end streets are neighborhood units formed by those working in the same guild. The gardens of the houses in Çarşı are small and the garden walls are high.
In the area of Çarşı extending towards the Gümüş Valley, there is the Taşminare Mosque dating from the Candaroğulları period and the bathhouse close to Tabakhane. Gümüş Creek flows along a deep valley towards Tabakhane.
Beybağı
Beybağı Region is a beautiful and cool residential area with mansions with pools. One of the two beautiful mansions with pools belonging to the Asmaz Family was purchased by the TURING institution and restored and turned into a hotel. The second mansion belonging to İsmail Asmaz is also owned by the family. The roof was repaired with tiles provided by the Association for the Protection of Historic Turkish Houses. The building suffered a fire and then the burnt parts were rebuilt. In both mansions, the pool is located in the selamlık section. The pools are 4 x 4 and 2 meters deep. The pools are fire insurance for the neighborhood. On the ground floor, the walls of the pool are surrounded by a gallery and this is a cold storage room. The sound of the water flowing from the fountain gutter in the pool prevents conversations at the pool from being heard from outside.
Akçasu Valley
There are large mansions along the Akçasu Valley. There are beautiful mansions around the Kaçak Mosque, which sits on the valley with arches. Ulukavaklar House is the best example of a closed family economy. The house has a boiler stove, a spring water fountain, a pool, an oven and a mill. The mansion is an 18th century structure with a “karnıyarık” plan type. It is located on the upper road. The life section is on the road leading down to Akçasu. There is a cihannüma pavilion in the garden.
Hıdırlık, Hıdrellez Festivities and Summer Migration
The May 6 Hıdırellez celebration is a summer festival. Families would gather on Hıdırlık Hill and the prepared food would be eaten together. This date marks the beginning of the migration to Bağlar. A week before, the ladies go to Bağlar to prepare the summer house. The wood is scrubbed and whitewashed. Carpets are laid, couches are prepared. In the 18th-19th centuries, migration from Çarşı to Bağlar was done by horse-drawn carriages. The migration with carts followed the road from the Çarşı to Bağlar through Kalealtı. The road passed through Gümüş and led to Bağlar.
Bağlar
The Bağlar Region was where vineyards were located. The vineyards produced thin-skinned sergeant grapes. The grapes were harvested in September and were carefully picked on those days. Then the grapes were put into the grape trough and crushed by women with their feet. The resulting grape juice was used to make must, syrup and molasses. In the apple orchards, red apples would be so plentiful that the branches would bend.
Bağlar Houses
The houses in Bağlar are summer houses. The sofas of the houses are open to the outside. There are houses with open sofas and “karnıyarık” plan types in Bağlar. Houses with open sofas are small houses. Depending on the size of the family, two-room, three-room plans with open sofas have developed.
Hacı Memişler Vineyard House
The vineyard house of Hacı Memişler is one of the examples of the three-room plan type. The house is a simple and plain house with its elegant buttresses, goat hair lime plastered facade and black doors, reflecting the general characteristics of Safranbolu houses. The barn on the ground floor was converted into a living room. The living room was built with stone walls and covered with muşabak (wooden lattice). The upper floor was organized as a harem. The pencil works on the ceiling in the hall reflect the taste of the 18th century. It is said to have been done by the craftsmen working at the İzzet Mehmet Pasha Mosque. The ceiling decoration of the most important of the three rooms, the head room, is a very good example of woodworking, according to the owners, the ceiling nails were made of silver.
Hacı Memişler Vineyard House
The vineyard house of Hacı Memişler is one of the examples of the three-room plan type. The house is a simple and plain house with its elegant buttresses, goat hair lime plastered facade and black doors, reflecting the general characteristics of Safranbolu houses. The barn on the ground floor was converted into a living room. The living room was built with stone walls and covered with muşabak (wooden lattice). The upper floor was organized as a harem. The pencil works on the ceiling in the hall reflect the taste of the 18th century. It is said to have been done by the craftsmen working at the İzzet Mehmet Pasha Mosque. The ceiling decoration of the most important of the three rooms, the head room, is a very good example of woodworking, according to the owners, the ceiling nails were made of silver.
Değirmenbaşı Ömer An House
Ömer An House in Değirmenbaşı is in the plan type with an outer room. The house, which was neglected for many years, was restored and turned into a pension as Raşitler House.
Gökçüoğlu Mansion
Vineyard house of Gökçüs’ (Dibekönü) is one of the earliest (17th century) example. The house, which has a two-room plan with an open living room, was built as a wooden carcass on mudbrick walls. The upper floor of the house is a rectangular open hall with a barn and a living room on the lower floor. There are two rooms passing through the hall and a wooden toilet at the end of the corridor extending between them. The outer face of the hall is covered with wooden lattices. There are two high sofas, one above the staircase and the other at the front side of the hall. The one in front is a beautiful bar drinking room with a small hearth. The roof covering is made of wooden covering material called “hartama”.
Gökçüoğlu Mansion is a mansion in the Bağlar District of Safranbolu that has preserved its originality until today. No changes have been made to the building. It has a carnival plan type. The ground floor consists of a living room and a barn. The life facing the garden is covered with lintels. The staircase to the selamlık starts from the side of the selamlık door, the staircase to the first floor reaches the selamlık sofa. There is a high sofa above the staircase in the selamlik. There is a revolving cabinet between the selamlik and the harem. In the harem section, there is one staircase going down to life and two staircases going up to the harem section.
Baglar Asmazlar Mansion
Bağlar Asmazlar Mansion is a large mansion with an open-plan type. The life and barn are in original condition. The first floor selamlık section consists of guest bedrooms and a guest room. The harem floor shows a summer house characterized by an open-plan. Sofa is an exterior room closed with lattices. The iwan is also open and closed with a lattice. There is a stone bath between the rooms. The room in front of the bath is organized as a bath ashtray. The bath was built with a dome and kurnalı and the ground floor was raised 50 cm from the second floor level. The skylights of the head room, which had been altered during the previous repair, were closed.
Emin Hocazade Ahmet Bey House
Emin Hocazade Ahmet Bey House is the house where İzzet Mehmet Pasha’s sister was married. The house was about to be demolished in 1965. The back part of the house was demolished and the plan had lost its features. It was a three-room plan type building. The owner of the house was Nezihe Aycan (Kadıoğlu) and her family. Under the conditions of those days, the restoration of the house seemed impossible. Because it was necessary to fight against culture and the pressure of an alienated environment. In 1974, the renovation was completed despite all the difficulties. The head room of the house has 18th century stained glass in the skull window. The walls are covered with wooden decoration.
Baglar Irrigation System
The irrigation system of the Bağlar District is as old as the history of Safranbolu. The source of the water comes from a cave at the end of the Bulak Valley. The water is divided into two parts. One part used to go to Bulak Village and its vineyards and the other to Safranbolu. When reaching the vineyards, it would first pass through Çamlık and then come to Değirmenbaşı. The water would first come to Harmanlar and then enter the mill through gutters and on stone wall supports. After turning the millstones, it would continue to flow towards Bağlar through arcs.
It was distributed to the houses according to a water distribution plan that had been in place since the Ottoman period. The arcs would pass through the bottom of the garden walls and water would be taken into the garden through a hole in the wall. A stone would be placed in front of the arc and the water would enter the garden. The arcs would run through all the streets of Bağlar. The sound of water would give people passing by a different peacefulness.
In Ottoman times, it was allowed to build houses on flat areas in the vineyard regions. The vineyard houses in Safranbolu were small at first and then gradually grew into mansions. The gardens were 2 thousand-3 thousand m² in size. Saffron bulbs were planted in a small corner of the gardens.
Kıranköy-Mısak-ı Milli
The Greeks, the former owners of Anatolia, remnants of the Pontic Kingdom, had learned to produce and live together with the Turks. There was a division of labor in the guild bazaars. For example, the Greeks would prepare the upper part of the yemeni, send it to the craftsman in the bazaar, who would do the sewing work and send it back to the Greeks. This coexistence lasted for hundreds of years.
During the War of Independence, there was intense work in Çarşı. Craftsmen working day and night were producing tools and shoes that the army needed. There was fear and waiting in Kıranköy. Every now and then, shouts of ‘Zito Venizelos’ were heard. A century of silence had been broken. When the years of war ended, relations were damaged. The Treaty of Lausanne was signed in 1924. According to the agreement, there would be mutual migration (exchange). Greeks were to leave their homes and go to Greece. It was the hardest thing to leave their homes, their Turkish neighbors and their masters in a region where they had lived for centuries. Their departure was very sad. The houses they left were given to Turks coming from Greece. It took years for them to adapt. The houses were no different from their homes in Greece. When you entered through the door, you entered a gizzard. The walls and ceilings were made of stone. There were vaulted arches on the ceilings. When you went up the stairs, you entered a hall with wooden ceilings, the ceilings were richly decorated. It was similar to the Çarşı houses. But the plan features were different. There were the same overhangs, the same ‘hand on hand’ buttresses, but there were no distinctions such as harem-selamlık.
There was also a church in Kıranköy. The church was a Byzantine church with a single dome and apse in the basilica plan type. Now that the Greeks had migrated, the church had to be converted into a mosque. They added a minaret and called it Ulucami. Kıranköy overlooks the Gümüş Valley from the hill. The houses built on the steep slope look majestic when viewed from below.
Text: Yavuz Ince, Photos: İsmail Şahinbaş
– Yavuz Ince, Engineer and Architect
WORLD HERITAGE MAGAZINE ISSUE 1 (APRIL 2023)