Climatic Considerations in the Formation of Vernacular Architecture of Turkish Arid Zones

Throughout history human beings have tried to overcome the restrictions of the natural environment and to shape it according to their needs. The traditional forms of shelter were formed according to socio-cultural forces and as an appropriate reponse to bio-climatic regions. Looking at examples of vernacular architecture it can be seen that the harsher the environmental conditions,the more interesting and richer is the architecture. \ud \ud Within the framework of this paper those dwellings of Turkey occuring in hot-arid regions are described. The subject of the paper is centuries old inward looking courtyarded buildings from Sanliurfa, Mardin, and Diyarbakir as well as coniformed or "beehive" houses of Harran. These buildings have many interesting features like water elements in the form of public and private wells, selsebil, pools; vegetation in the form of shrubs, just one or two trees depending on the existing amound of water; materials like the magnificent stonework of arches, vaults, and domes or wooden engraved and latticework, sun dried mud and straw bricks; separation of spaces as winter and summer quaters and as open, semi-closed and enclosed spaces; large earthen jars installed into the ceilings; top windows about main windows; projecting kiosks showing beautiful blend of the culture, religion, as well as the response to climate