The Hayat Agrinion
Semi-Public Spaces and Practices Konstantina Pappa
The hayat is a term for an architectural element of the vernacular architecture in the East-Mediterranean areas that were formerly part of the Ottoman Empire. It can be described as a courtyard or a balcony, depending on the building. It is a semi-open space, covered by a wooden construction, and serves as an entrance and extension of the house to the public. Although there are variations in the typology, depending on the area, the hayat was commonly used in the domestic architecture of the whole region, appearing both in rural cottages and vernacular settlements. The term hayat, translated in Turkish as life, was integrated into common Greek language (χαγιάτι) and has an Arabic root: hayah. This linguistic connection is interesting because vernacular architecture has been a disputed subject in these areas. Since the mid-1800s, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, each of the emerging nation-states (such as Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, etc.) turned towards a nationalistic view of cultural heritage, as a way to proclaim their
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