Taşlık (paved entrance hall)

The taşlık is the stone-paved entrance hall on the ground floor of the traditional Turkish house, the first space you meet when entering from the street or courtyard gate. Its name comes from that stone paving (taş means stone). Ground-floor service spaces such as the stable, hay store, woodshed, larder and kitchen often open onto it, and the stair up to the living floor usually starts here.

The taşlık in the Turkish house

In the Turkish house, life happens upstairs while service and production gather on the ground floor. The taşlık is where these two worlds meet. In some houses it is a semi-open area merging with the courtyard; in others a fully enclosed hall. Stone paving stands up to muddy shoes, animals, water and wet work, so much of the daily labour took place here. Thick masonry ground-floor walls and small, high windows keep it cool, and it was also used to store food and rest in summer. In town houses it is sometimes arranged with an iwan or fountain opening to the courtyard.

The taşlık in survey and restoration

The stone floor of a taşlık should be recorded together with its traces of use: worn paths, marks of animals and carts, and the positions of old fountains and hearths all tell the house’s story. The survey plots the paving pattern on plan and notes level changes and drainage falls separately. Rising damp is common on the ground floor; an impermeable screed or cement covering pushes this moisture into the walls and is therefore avoided. In adaptive reuse the taşlık easily keeps its original character as an entrance and reception space.