MARDİN-SAVUR GELENEKSEL KENT DOKUSU VE EVLERİ

Savur, a small town in the province of Mardin, is an important traditional settlement that has preserved its original texture up to the present. Its traditional texture consists of residential areas located around two hills. Savur, with its castle, its street shaped in compliance with the topography, religious structures, konaks and houses reflects the characteristics of traditional locational elements. The fundamental elements of the town that developed in an unplanned manner into an organic texture are the traditional houses. Savur houses which reflect the general features of south-eastern architecture have been shaped under the impact of family life, economic structure, cultural interaction, climate, topography, geological structure and construction materials. Most of the houses have been inhabited by the descendents of their original owners. There, traditional life and cultural structure still keep on going. Yet, traditional texture has been losing its original values day by day due to warped urbanization and restoration, population increase, neglect and disinterest. Although there are a lot of traditional houses in the area, only a few has been registered. One of the main problems of Savur which has no preservation plan is the lack of a search for its cultural heritage and its study with contemporary methods. In this study, firstly, all the traditional houses of Savur have been recorded. Then, they are thoroughly examined so as to reveal Savur’s traditional texture, settlement characteristics and architectural traits of the houses such as plan characteristics and types, facade design and its elements and their structural systems.