Historic Ayas Houses Being Revived for Tourists

Historic Ayas houses, most attractive for their authentic architectural structure, will be revived for tourist purposes thanks to a project supported by the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry.

74 historical houses have been restored as a result of a project for protection of the historical texture of houses in Ankara's Ayas district jointly supported by the State Ministry, Culture and Tourism Ministry and Ayas's local authorities.

The district whose history dated back to 1071 was one of the earliest Turkish settlements in Anatolia. There were around 400 historic houses featuring authentic architectural texture that needed protection in the district.

The Silk Road Tourism Development project, launched in 2004 by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, highlights the natural, historical and cultural wealth of the provinces and districts along the Silk Road route through a series of restoration and landscape initiatives.

The Foundation for the Promotion and Protection of the Environment and Cultural Heritage (ÇEKÜL) has lent great support to the project. Faruk Soydemir of ÇEKÜL said the foundation worked for the preservation of Turkey's cultural heritage. “Our Ankara Office is contributing to the project. The houses in Ayas are generally two-storied, the upper floor used to be the residence for people living in these houses. In some houses, however, the ground floor was used as a stall… Their colours are usually cream and white but some houses feature red, blue and green. Another characteristic is that ceramic brick ingredients were used in some houses," he added.
Source: Turkish Daily News