Artvin Culture House
It is written on the hearthstone that the house was built by Bicanoğlu Yahya Ağa in 1215 Hijri (1799 AD). The building, which is an Ottoman-Turkish masterpiece, which is mentioned as a bâb-ı hâne ma'a bagçe (mansion with a garden) in the Orta Mahallesi of Artvin in the Ottoman land registry records, was built approximately 16 years after the construction of the Orta Mahalle Mosque, which is now in the same neighborhood. The names of the masters who wrote the writings are written on the right and left sides of the hearth; Since these master craftsmen, who used the technique of writing by drawing and digging, carving on stones, walls and trees, were called “Hakkak” at that time, the verb of writing is also expressed as “Hakka” here. The cypress (or cypress) tree motifs on the right and left of the hearth have a special place in Turkish culture.
When we examine the Turkish culture from the past to the present, we can see how much the tree motif is used and the similarities in its use. The cypress motif, which has a special place and importance for human life and is the tree of life, was used by the craftsmen of the Ottoman Empire in tiles, rugs, hearthstones, tombstones, fountains, wall paintings and many other places. The similarity of the cypress tree with the minarets is one of the factors that strengthened the place of this tree in Ottoman culture. The Culture House, which has been restored and landscaped, has been rented out to the occupier and is a place where local dishes can be eaten.
