The Ottoman houses

Amasya’s half-timbered Ottoman houses contribute so much to the atmosphere of the town for more information about their design. A good starting point for explorations is the nineteenth-century Hazeranlar Konağı, an imposing mansion at the river’s edge. The heavily restored interior has been turned into a convincing re-creation of a nineteenth-century family home, liberally decked out with carpets, period furniture and domestic artefacts. It incorporates typical features of the time: wall niches for oil lamps, bathrooms secreted away behind cupboard doors, and sedirs or divan seating running along the walls. In the basement of the house, accessed by a separate entrance, there’s a small art gallery. Paintings by local artists are displayed and it’s often possible to watch artists at work. Follow the street west from the Hazeranlar Konaği as far as the footbridge leading across to the Sultan Beyazit Camii and it’ll take you through the heart of the old house district.