The Gates of Adatepe Village in Artistic Expression

OpenAlex English

This article explores the metaphorical use of the theme of doors in the field of art, beyond its functional role, to narrate or reflect emotions, culture, lifestyle, religious beliefs, and socio-economic status. The study focuses on the example of the village of Adatepe, situated in the town of Küçükkuyu in the Çanakkale province of Turkey. Emphasizing the geographical and cultural significance of Adatepe village, the research particularly delves into its architectural features. Adatepe has hosted a historical legacy where Turks and Greeks lived together before the Population Exchange. The traces of this rich past, especially through traditional doors, have been preserved to the present day. Shaped by the architectural character evolving under the influence of forced migration, these doors not only serve as tangible expressions of history and cultural heritage, determining the village's character, but also reflect the experiences, cultural origins, and social connections of the migrants. In this study, the examination of how Adatepe's architectural features reflect the village's history and culture aims not only to document these existing doors as architectural elements but also to study them with the unique language of art, highlighting their symbolic value in terms of the nature of the society and culture they belong to, not only in terms of their physical structures but also in the meanings they carry. The goal is to bridge the past and the present by documenting these doors, which hold significant symbolic value, through the distinctive language of art.