Traditional Dwellings of Gölde (İncesu): A Rural Heritage in the Process of Change

Abstract

Gölde, officially named İncesu, is a rural settlement located in Aegean Anatolia. Before the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923, Gölde 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 Gölde dwelling units by analysing the influence of daily-life practices, customs, traditions and values through interviews with current locals and the oral testimonies of former Rum inhabitants. A site survey identified 136 traditional dwelling units, 68 of which are still inhabited. Site reconstruction analysis revealed the original condition of 90 dwelling units. These formed the primary focus of investigation. No major differences were found between houses originally belonging to the Rum and Turkish communities. However, the study identified significant adaptations of the dwelling units in line with changing socio-cultural conditions over time.

Keywords:

• Gölde
• rural architecture
• adaptation
• daily life
• traditional dwelling

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This paper is based on a Master’s thesis entitled ‘Understanding Gölde (İncesu) with its Tangible and Intangible Characteristics’, by Esra Eken, under the supervision of F. Nurşen Kul in the Department of Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage at İzmir Institute of Technology in 2018.

We would like to thank the municipality of Kula for providing documents and accommodation and the locals of Gölde for their hospitality. We also would like to thank Assist. Prof. Dr Leyla Aksu Kılıç who kindly translated the original Ottoman documents into modern Turkish.

In this study, interpretations are based on interviews with current locals in the settlement, narratives of former Rum inhabitants and observations on site. All images are copyright of the authors.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Çil, “Space, Practice, Memory,” 2.

2 Baykara, “19. Yüzyılda Urla Yarımadasında Nüfus Hareketleri,” 197.

3 The original Ottoman document was translated to modern Turkish by Assist. Prof. Dr Leyla Aksu Kılıç from the Department of History, Uşak University.

4 Cuinet, La Turquie d’Asie, 565–9; Sami, Kamus’u Alem, 3766; Dawkins, Modern Greek in Asia Minor, 38.

5 Obtained from the Centre for Asia Minor Studies Archive.

6 Bozdağlıoğlu, “Türk-Yunan Nüfus Mübadelesi ve Sonuçları,” 10.

7 Interview with İM, 12 May 2017.

8 According to the first article of the “Convention and Protocol Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Peoples” signed by Turkey and Greece on 30 January 1923, Orthodox Greeks in Turkey and Muslim Turks in Greece would be subjected to forced migration as of 1 May 1923. Those who had already migrated would not be allowed to return to the countries they came from without the permission of the Turkish and Greek authorities. With this convention, approximately 350,000 Turks and 200,000 Greeks were subjected to forced migration. Kayam, “Türk Yunan Nüfus Mübadelesi,” 581.

9 Malay, “Katakekaumene’de Yerleşimler,” 5.

10 Interview with EÇ and İG, 13 May 2017.

11 Obtained from CAMS Archive.

12 Ibid.

13 Interview with YD, 12 May 2017.

14 Obtained from CAMS Archive.

15 On 6 January, the Teofania Festival, which was based on the baptism of Christ in the Jordan River, was celebrated by the Greeks. It took place on the last day of a twelve-day celebration period, which started at Christmas (Omilo, “The Celebration of Epiphany”).

16 Obtained from CAMS Archive.

17 Ibid.

18 Interview with RG, İM, HÇ and HU, 12–13 May 2017.

19 Interview with İE, 12 May 2017.

20 Interview with OG, 21 July 2017.

21 Interview with HU, 13 May 2017.

22 TUIK, “Address-based Population Registration System.” The numbers of men and women were provided by TUIK between 2007 and 2020.

23 Asatekin, “Understanding Traditional Residential Architecture in Anatolia,” 399.

24 Obtained from CAMS Archive.

25 Interview with İM and MÇ, 12 May 2017.

26 Interview with RG, 25 May 2017.

27 Interview with DB, 12 May 2017.

28 Interview with OG, 21 July 2017.

29 Obtained from CAMS Archive.

30 Interview with EÇ, İM, HU and İG, 25–6 May 2017.

31 The Sofa altı is a semi-open space under the first-floor sofa (Akyüz, “Geleneksel Konut Mimarisine İlişkin Kavramlar,” 38–40).

32 Kuban, Turkish Hayat House, 23; Eldem, Türk Evi Plan Tipleri, 31–90; Küçükerman, Turkish House in Search of Spatial Identity, 59.

33 Eldem, Türk Evi Plan Tipleri, 16; Kuban, Turkish Hayat House, 23; Küçükerman, Turkish House in Search of Spatial Identity, 59.

34 The taşlık is a semi-open circulation space at ground-floor level (Akyüz, “Geleneksel Konut Mimarisine İlişkin Kavramlar,” 38–40).

35 Çil emphasised a second entrance door to the house, accessed with a marble staircase, as the distinctive feature of western-style houses (Çil, “Exploring the Construction of the Identities of Kula,” 179).

36 Tanyeli, “The Ottoman Period,” 54.

37 The Lokma parmaklık was created by passing five or seven horizontal bars through three or four vertical bars, to create a grid that covered the whole window opening. In addition to the wooden elements in the window openings, some openings and iwans were covered by sharp, pointed iron railings.

38 Çil, “Exploring the Construction of the Identities of Kula,” 58.

39 Interview with ŞT, 19 July 2017.

40 Ibid.

41 Büyükerman and Güner, Anadolu Mirasında Türk Evleri, 123; Eliade, Dinler Tarihine Giriş, 366.

42 Arslan, “Osmanlı Mimarisinde Ahşap Tavan Göbekleri,” 1.

43 Asatekin, “Understanding Traditional Residential Architecture in Anatolia,” 405.

44 Interview with OG, 21 July 2017.

45 Ibid.

46 Ibid.

47 Ibid.