,

Abstract

Tarsus, hosted various civilizations through history, has been one of the most important agricultural production centers in Anatolia with its fertile lands. Although modernization of agriculture diminished the need for labor force after the Industrial Revolution; effective policies to support villagers for living in rural areas couldn't be developed, since agricultural sector gradually lost its importance. This situation which started in the Ottoman period and continued during Republican period; particularly after 1950, caused agricultural production in Tarsus and its surrounding got complicated as in many other production areas. As a result, the vast majority of the villagers in rural areas have migrated to urban centers. Thus, life in rural areas was disappeared while traditional rural architecture which is reflecting the local identity of the region began to be abandoned. In all the villages where life continues in spite of these difficulties, rural architecture models, which represents traditional lifestyle, has began to disappear rapidly with the interventions for modern necessitates, as any policies for safeguarding rural tissue and traditional architecture were not developed. The results of these above-mentioned processes are determined also in this research which focuses on rural architecture in Tarsus. In the fast-growing coastal and lowland villages of Tarsus, any rural architecture example was not observed, while in the mountain villages, it is possible to see rural architecture with authentic characteristics, even though they are very few in number. The aim of this research is to define the architectural characteristics and current situation of this small number of houses which have original features in Tarsus's rural. In this context, after a literature review on the rural history of the region, field survey was conducted in three mountain villages - Ulas, Kale and Ihsaniye - which have rich history and continuing traditional daily life. Three traditional houses in Ulas and Kale villages and four traditional houses in Ihsaniye village were surveyed to investigate architectural features and daily life. In the conclusion, common features of the surveyed buildings and current situation of the changing rural life were discussed.