THE MODEL OF VERNACULAR COUNTRYSIDE FROM TURKEY: MARDIN PAVILIONS

Abstract

Mardin, which is called the “Cradle of Cultures”, is located in the southeastern part of Turkey and in the north of Mesopotamia. Throughout history, it has been the center of crossroads and hosted many different civilizations and cultures. Many important historical constructions, including earliest Christian churches and constructions that belong to Artuqid, Akkoyunlu, and Ottoman era, are located in Mardin. Churches, mosques, khans, hammams, fountains, houses and pavilions form the city texture. In Mardin, mansions that have an iwan and are surrounded by a garden with a fountain are called “pavilion”. Apart from Mardin’s traditional urban texture, tradi- tional Mardin pavilions that are placed in interior garden have never been examined before. In this study, 24 kiosks that are placed around the city, about 2-15 km far from city center, in Ba- kirkiri and Zinnar valleys, have been examined in terms of historical, social and architectural properties. Some of them have been constructed during Artuqid and Akkoyunlu periods. These pavilions, which originally belonged to the prominent families of the city, have been sold or abandoned because of various reasons. Some of them have been destroyed because of the lack of maintenance. Therefore, it can be said that Mardin pavilions are in danger of disappearing be- cause of the changing life styles of people and some internal and external factors. The present study aims to provide guidance to the applications about documenting, presenting, conserving and keeping traditional Mardin pavilions alive.