Villages reflect the climate and character of the region. Wood frame and log construction in the temperate zone gives way to wattle and daub and eventually sun-dried brick in the southeast. You may notice interesting structures such as earth ovens, round outhouses, or dome-shaped cisterns. H ouses in the mountain villages close to the Black Sea are scattered.
Villagers communicate by sing-song yells and yodels which echo in the valleys.
A real treat for the history buff is a visit to one of the villages just outside Bursa, such as Cumalikizik, handed down almost intact from the 13th century. Here one can see the origins of the typical Turkish house with its window overhangs, functional spaces relating to the courtyard and the arrangement of rooms on the second storeys, as well as the settlement layout overall with its intricate pattern of narrow streets. T ypical villages are built around a central square with the mosque, the school, the general store, and, of course, the center of male life, the coffee house. The coffee house is the men's domain where important issues such as politics and crop prices are discussed and local gossip exchanged. The village fountain, inner courtyards and doorways are the woman's domain.