Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
METU JOURNAL OF THE FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE, sa.2, ss.207-240, 2021 (AHCI)
The Eastern Black Sea region has a unique geographic structure with deep valleys perpendicular to the shore lined up one after the other. Until the middle of the 20th century, the plains of the region close to the shore formed the commercial centers of the region with their seaport-market characteristics, while the settlement basins with rural life were located in the depths of these valleys. These valleys, where it is difficult to pass from one to the other, create an isolated environment for the peoples they host; they also served as barriers for architectural practices as well as social and cultural structure. Modern research on rural housing culture has shown this fact clearly. Even a superficial observation reveals that this is also true for the mosques/masjids scattered in the valleys, between the valleys in the westernmost and easternmost parts of Trabzon, according to today's administrative division. As a matter of fact, when 155 mosques/masjids spread over 14 valleys whose existence was determined within the scope of the research were examined, it was understood that the historical caravan routes passing through the valleys, bazaars and bazaars established a close relationship with the locations of these mosques. And it is clear that some very rational architectural practices within this diversity were carried out by local masters who were roaming in the valley or between the nearby valleys. The aim of the study is to read and reveal the similarities and divergences between the architectural characters of rural mosques scattered in the valleys, between the Agasar Creek Valley in the westernmost part of Trabzon province and the Baltaci Creek Valley in the east, in the context of the valleys that serve as barriers, according to the administrative division paralleling the current valley borders.