In Anatolia, which has a rich cultural heritage, houses and mansions display the cultural identities, lifestyles and technologies of the period they were built. Houses, as the means of representation of space, are one of the areas in which one can tell the social status, style, memories and daily life practices of those who have lived and will live in them. A wide range of examples of houses and mansions about mosaic flooring, stone carvings and wall decorations have survived in Anatolia until today. However, changing life conditions and comfort cause these houses to be abandoned or demolished. Located in Siirt Tillo, the mansion of Sheikh Nasreddin, who was a member of the last parliament of the Ottoman state, is a structure which has reached today with all its characteristics and has an exceptional value. The mansion consists of the living space of the household and the Divanhane (grand gathering place) section, embodying Sheikh Nasreddin’s political and social identity. The use of Sheikh Nasreddin’s Divanhane both as a residence and a divanhane, and the hand-drawn (kalem işi) decorations on the walls and dome in the divanhane section set the house apart from others and convey the political power and style of the period. This study will help the recognition of the mansion, which has survived to the present day by preserving its decorations and has an architectural decoration reflecting the characteristics of its period, with its painted ornaments.
Keywords: Painted ornament, decoration, Sheikh Nasreddin’s Divanhane