Fortified Homes

Kulla/� comes from the Turkish word kule meaning tower. It was a house built high and principally made up of stone. It contained few windows and small ones, built ideally as close to the ceiling as possible, so as to protect from attacks, which was a constant worry in lawless Albania. In essence it was a fortified home suited for a people living on the edge of society. The houses were originally intended for higher mountainous territory of northern Albania. Their origin lay in the decentralized life of that country, which carried such things as the blood-feud. They would be built high instead of wide so as to prevent the attackers from reaching the windows.

These kullas were generally expensive and usually reserved for the more wealthy members of Albanian society; and, even then, Kulla's would be passed down from one generation to another, often inheriting the name of either the family or the original owner. Although they were small in space, Kulla's supported large families(numbering in generations). The men occupied the principal part of the Kulla, while the women, in a safer position, lived in an annex. This meant that there were usually two living quarters: one for the women and children, the other for the men. The ground floor was kept for the horses and the upper ones were used by the men. The stairs of the house generally did not attach every floor but rather provided direct access. Since Kulla's generally had 3 floors, it means that there were two doors and two staircases. The walls of the Kulla were thick, about a meter thick, making them ideal for the weather changes/extremes(the house is cool in the summer, while warm in the winter).

In time the Kulla's came to represent the power of the Albanian aristocracy; while also becoming resting areas for rebels and bandits fleeing from Ottoman authorities or Albanians fleeing blood feuds. The result was that they became the center of attack by Ottoman authorities looking to put down Albanian revolts, this was especially so in Kosova, where the Kulla's were built on low ground and thereby easier to attack; while in northern Albania, the mountainous landscape made it difficult, ihof often next to impossible. During the various Serb attacks on Kosova, Kulla's were often attacked for similar reasons.

Kulla's are common throughout Albanian inhabited areas and among the Arvanites of Greece, who followed the typical Albanian method of dispersed homes rather then centralized ones.


Kulla's near central Albania



another


The Pasha's Kulle. An urban kulla showing a mixture between the modern urbane and the traditional.


Theth, north Albania. A kulla that retained its purpose as a fortified home.




Kulla of a wealthy family in Istog, Kosova


kulla of Gllogjani, Kosova (I believe)


Kulla under renovation (hundreds of Kulla's were purposely destroyed by the Serb invasion of Kosova, both in the eary 20th century and in the later 20th century.)


And lastly, the birthplace of Albania's dictator was also in a fortified home(how fitting, if you knew what he turned the country into):


This last one was from an urban and quite wealthy area of s. Albania: Gjirokaster. The kulla was built to keep with tradition, but, as you can see, its highly flavored.

Edited by Theodore Felix - 12-Dec-2007 at 04:38

And another one from Redondela, Galicia (NW Spain). Its now used as a Pilgrin hostel in the Portuguese route to Santiago de Compostela (St James).

Edited by Sikander - 17-Dec-2007 at 17:55

In Romania too, in Oltenia, there have been preserved some cula (less than ten, I think). In past it have been more.

Maldaresti





Cerneti



Siacu

Other examples, from Portugal:

Edited by Sikander - 18-Dec-2007 at 17:10

The 1st one is in Kozarac, BiH, the 2nd one in Bihac, BiH. 3rd Prijedor, BiH. 4th Jajce, BiH, part of the Castle compound, seat of Medieval monarchy, contains the Coat of Arms above the entrance. 5th Coat of Arms from 4. 6th Entrance Tower / Gate of a Castle in Banja Luka, BiH.





Edited by es_bih - 19-Dec-2007 at 05:21

A good example of Ottoman architecture.

Actualy, the 'Ottoman' architecture is Byzantine architecture. It was found in Minor Asia and Greece for centuries before the coming of Turks.

Galata Tower: Istanbul, Turkey.

Well, I guess the thread was intended to present fortified houses, not fortresses or castle towers

I'm in the habit of thinking that the tower-houses were something that started under the Byzantines and further developed under the ottomans. Many of the more urban 'Kulla' started to get more oriental features exemplified in the Gjirokaster Kulla.

Im not saying that tower homes in particular, but the Balkan culture of it. To make what inhabitable what would normally look like a guard tower.