Şefik Gül Culture House is an authentic Elazig mansion located in Harput, the old settlement of Elazig.. This historical house, which does not look like an ethnography museum, is very pleasant and full of surprises for those who want to get to know the culture of the city better and see what is in a traditional Elazig house. The best living example of the identity and traditional architecture of Harput, which has sunk into oblivion.. Complementing the atmosphere of this museum-house that adds color to the historical streets of Harput, its history from the Ottoman Empire to the museum makes this house even more valuable with its memories and stories.
Şefik Gül Culture House
strong>, Elazig
The known past of this warm and cozy house in Harput XIX. going to their heads. The area where the house is located in the records is called ‘Keşkoğlu Square’, the first owner of the house is Saraylı Muharrem Ağa.. After the death of Muharrem Ağa, the mansion, which was left to his daughter Fatma Hanım, is sold to Mustafa Efendi for 100 Ottoman liras. is buying. The mansion is being restored by meticulous work in accordance with its original. After the collection of ethnographic objects in the region, the building opens its doors to visitors as Şefik Gül Culture House.. When you look at its garden surrounded by stone walls from the street, it looks like a single-storey house with a flat roof, but when you open the wooden door and go down the stairs, you see a three-storey mansion built with beams and stones. it opens into a large sofa with a room and stairs leading to the upper floor.. The end of the sofa connects to the garden again. The interior is cool and dry with the effect of stone architecture.. The sharp smell of the wood used in the flooring came to my nose immediately.. I love this smell of old houses.
The room on the left side of the door is the freezer.. The freezer room is decorated in the form of the living room of the mansion, this is the place where the households usually spend their daily time.. On the ceiling of the room, there are varnished tree trunks called cisir, which go from one end of the ceiling to the other.
The windows are quite high from the ground and recessed into the wall.. The thickness of the stone wall is almost 1 meter.. Living room illuminated by the light filtering through handcrafted short curtains.
Divans with seats made of wood are covered with local drapes.. A coal-fired iron, administrative lamps and many other objects reflecting the local culture of Elazig are placed in the niche on the wall with shelves in white.
Across the freezer room is the kitchen, which is descended a few steps from the floor.. It is dim and cooler than the freezer room, and the ceiling is lower.. The shelves (telek) lined up above the counter are all wooden.. Copper bowls, coffee pots, colanders, wooden pestles, wire strainers, and all kitchen supplies used in the past in Elazig are lined up on these shelves.. The interior of this room is like an Elazig reenactment.. Every corner is photographic and very authentic. If they let me go, I could stay in this room for hours, so peaceful and quiet.
In the middle of the room, which is entered by going down two steps, a stone arch divides the room into two.. One side of the room is covered with ottomans with ethamine embroidered pillows.. On top of the sofa in the far corner, the most unique item of Elazig culture is the lectern.
Think of the lectern as a square table with a height of 50-60 cm. These barbecues, which are made of straw and sticky mud, are placed under the table in cold winter days.. A large quilt is placed on the lectern so that the feet of those sitting on the edge of the lectern can better benefit from the heat of the barbecue.
The circumference of the sofa around the lectern is also called the lectern head.. One of the most beautiful details of this culture, where conversations are held, important issues are discussed, orcis and fruit pulp are served with tea, is one of the most beautiful details of this culture in Elazig. The quilt spread over it is actually a very innovative idea.
The stairs lead from the cozy Elazig room, where the lectern is, to the guest rooms on the top floor.. These guest rooms on the upper floor overlook the garden in front of the mansion.. The rooms have a wooden bay window on the wall facing the garden.
The name of the room at the head of the stairs is Şorşor. It is very nice with its ecru-colored stone fireplace, a picture-carpet hung on the wall, and its ornate sofa in front of the bay window.. From its window, the leaning minaret of the Great Mosque is visible.
The hall, where the rooms at the top of the stairs open, are slightly more modern.. With its wooden carved sofa set, classical style furniture, small ornate cupboard with 3 shelves embedded in the wall, glass showcases, domed window overlooking the garden, it feels like a modernized town house rather than a traditional village house. so beautiful and enjoyable. The garden is accessed from both doors of the hall at the entrance of the house.. In the shade of the garden fruit trees, apricot, cherry, what are you looking for?. It is certain that the ancients took tree planting more seriously than our generation.. They planted trees everywhere so that the children could eat and the wolf and the bird could benefit.
There is a fountain descending from the middle of the garden with a few steps and right next to the garden wall there are cedars covered with a tile roof.. Ethnographic works of Elazig are exhibited in the square niches inside the walls.. There is a fountain in the middle of the cedars.. Healing water, called the Dabakhane, near the Harput castle, flows from this fountain. museum. I enjoyed visiting the house a lot and learned a lot about this culture.
After leaving the museum, I wished all Harput streets had such beautiful mansions lined up, I said to myself, probably many people who visited the mansion would agree with me.. I hope Harput’s cultural richness is revealed, and Harput, once one of the most popular settlements in Anatolia, begins to receive the attention it deserves.
Şefik Gül Culture House entrance fee and visiting hours
Address: Harput, 23300 Elazig
Visit Hours and days: Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday 08:00-16:00
Entrance fee: Free admission
How to get to Şefik Gül Culture House
Şefik Gül Culture House is located in the center of Harput. You can go to Harput from Elazig by public transport or by your private car.. 9, 23 from Kanalboyu to go to Harput by public transport; 24, 23 from Ahmet Aydar Square; From Mustafa Paşa Neighborhood, you need to take buses numbered 5, 23 from 23 Faculty of Technology.
Visit Hours and days: Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday 08:00-16:00
Entrance fee: Free admission
