Design, Form, and Ecological Characteristics of the Traditional Cunda Houses in Anatolia

Abstract

Cunda, a small island in the Aegean Sea, was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in the fifteenth century. It is home to an array of natural, archaeological, and urban site areas with its monasteries, churches, mills, stores, and houses protected in large measure. The traditional settlement is situated in the southern tip of the island. The urban architecture created by the “Rum” population is magnificent, especially in the shore environs. The two- and three-story houses with their stone walls, monumental doors, balconies, projections, stone consoles, and iron supports are especially remarkable. Most of the neoclassical style houses have an enclosed hall reached by two doors: one door an entrance to depots known as “storerooms” and the other into the house proper. In the past, the inhabitants of these houses who engaged in the production of such goods as grapes, wine, olives, and olive oil used these depots for storage of their products. This tradition was continued in the same way by the new home owners after the exchange of populations. This study represents a research and documentation of the architectural formation of these protected Cunda houses.