Comparison with other similar properties

Town of Kemaliye is one of the preserved examples of traditional Ottoman / Anatolian organic urban texture and traditional Turkish house architecture such as Beypazarı, Safranbolu, Cumalıkızık and Amasya. However, the authentic features that make Kemaliye stand out from these examples are as follows:

Traditional house architecture in Anatolia can be divided into seven regions depending on the local materials and building traditions. According to this conception, it can be stated that the housing tradition of Kemaliye can be placed on the border of many housing traditions which exist in different regions of Anatolia. Some of these traditions are: “wooden frame house architecture of the Eastern Black Sea Region, adobe architecture in the village and small city environment of Central Anatolia; wood-beam architecture of Northeastern Anatolia; the residential architecture, which extends from Sivas to the west, in a construction technique, in which the carrier system is wood, adobe filled, and the ground floor is usually stone. When considered in terms of the socio-cultural differences in Anatolia in the Ottoman period; It can be said that Kemaliye is located on the borderline of the “Original Anatolian Synthesis” and the Transition Zone. Kemaliye houses differ from similar Anatolian urbanizations as they synthesize the characteristics of the regions to which they have borders. One of the distinctive features of the city is that it is built on a more rigid and dramatic (35% – 40%) topographic valley compared to other traditional Anatolian settlements.

Kemaliye differs from similar Anatolian / Ottoman settlements in terms of using wood in architecture as a non local material and in terms of transportation of it to the region with a very original method named “apart”. On the stone walls of the houses, inscriptions, and some interior elements, there are figures such as Mother Umay, snake and kibele, which are symbolized by the beliefs that have continued since pre- Islamic cultures. This also makes Kemaliye different from other traditional Anatolian settlements.

Karanlik (Dark) Canyon, interacting with the residential area, stands out as an exceptional geological value in the region. In addition, Taş Yol (the Stone Road), which has been shaped with traditional methods over many years in the Karanlik (Dark) Canyon, is an exceptional example of creative human genius.