Observations Regarding Traditional Examples of Civil Architecture in the Çubuk District of Ankara

The Çubuk district of Ankara contains several examples of traditional 17th and 18th centuries Turkish houses. While these examples of traditional civil architecture were constructed according to the geographical and topographic characteristics of the region, climate, features of the building material used, needs of the users, as well as the economic, social, and cultural situation, they also share common features. These three-storey buildings, which usually have basic facades, are designed for the requirements of rural life with a more inward-looking inner and middle anterooms that occupy two-stories or feature cihannüma (dormers). Most of the traditional architectural examples in Çubuk district that were examined between 2010-2011 only remain due to having been preserved through reconstruction. Most examples of traditional architecture of this type largely disappeared during the last century, and very few unregistered examples survive. This study aims to contribute to conservation efforts by conducting an evaluation, in terms of contemporary conservation principles, of the architectural features and conservation status of a group of unregistered traditional houses and registered civil architecture examples in the district of Çubuk. During the last 10 years, the district has become accepted as containing important examples of rural Ankara architecture