Abstract:

Wall paintings and painted decorations are an important art form that has been practised by artists for centuries and has become an integral part of architecture. This art type, which was embraced by many Ottoman artists, continued without interruption after the Republic. The decorations of Çaykaya Village Old Mosque in Ankara, which are examined in the scope of this study, belong to the post-Republican period. Although the wall paintings and painted decorations in the building belong to 1960, they show great similarity with the examples from the late Ottoman period. In fact, the themes chosen exhibit the continuation of the Ottoman painted decoration tradition in the Republican period. This clearly proves that folk artists did not abandon the tradition after the Republic. In this study, not only the wall paintings and painted decorations of the building will be introduced, but also the belonging of the ornaments will be discussed and opinions on their place in folk culture will be presented. Another focus of the study is the issue of protection. The fact that the buildings in the Anatolian countryside built in the middle of the 20th century haven’t been registered causes many of them to be ignored and even to be ruined. As a matter of fact, we face a group of "trivialized" buildings in Turkey. However, these architectural works are very important in terms of carrying the traces of traditional folk art. Çaykaya Village Old Mosque is one of the buildings which is on the brink of extinction in terms of both architectural characteristics and wall paintings and painted decorations. This study will also focus on the issue of the protection of the mosque.

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