TWO CHILDREN TO EVERY FAMILY
The population of Safranbolu hovered around 5 thousand up to the 1960s, the result, according to the former mayor, Kızıltan Ulukavak, who was instrumental in having the city declared an historical site in the 1970s, to Safranbolu families for centuries having always had two children and to the city’s closed economic structure based on the guild system. Consequently little need was felt for new houses and, as the stately mansions of Edirne, Bursa and Istanbul were becoming heaps of rubble, Safranbolu’s lovely wooden houses managed to remain standing until recent times. With a few modifications of course. These houses, which were designed according to the patriarchal family structure, have been partitioned off by their new owners to accommodate several families at a time. The tiny windows that are one of the distinguishing features of Safranbolu architecture were enlarged and converted into ‘modern’ windows. Naturally, their black, eyelid-like shutters also disappeared along with the tiny windows, and the snow-white lace curtains were replaced by tulle.