DOOR AND THRESHOLD BELIEFS FROM ANCIENT CULTURES TO TURKISH CULTURE

Abstract

The door defined as a structure or partition space in the place through which is passed when entering and exiting. Beyond this dictionary meaning in fact, it has various other connotations such as socio-cultural, political, literary, artistic, religious as well as architectural. Doors have been developed and shaped in accordance with the climatic conditions, structural features and cultural factors of the region where the buildings are located, and they are the elements forming the language of both people and spaces. In a sense, the door is the socio-cultural and economic expression of the owner of the place. In addition to connecting spaces, providing the function of passing from indoors to outdoors, from outdoors to indoors or from one space to another, doors also have functions such as insulation against temperature, water, humidity, noise, dust, insects, providing vision and light when necessary, and communication. When the historical processes of doors having many types and functions are examined, it is seen that they have not changed much in terms of shape, type and material use for thousands of years. Most of the beliefs about doors and thresholds from antiquity to the present have affected many societies in the context of cultural interaction. The symbolic meanings of doors and thresholds in Turkish culture are frequently encountered, similar to those in ancient cultures. Doors, keyholes and doorways have been seen as a passage for evil forces since antiquity, and certain rituals have been applied to the door and threshold to protect the inside against evil forces. Such practices are still found among the old Turks and in Anatolia. Apart from this, it is an ancient belief that the door is seen as a kind of gateway to life after death. The objects buried under the threshold to protect the household and the dwelling are also among the traditions that have survived since antiquity in the same direction. The aim of this study is to illuminate the impact of door and threshold beliefs from ancient cultures to today's Turkish culture in the light of examples.