Comparing the Past and Present Traces of Cultural Assets with the Reference of Literature and Architecture Arts to Each Other: Milas Greek Orthodox Church and Its Surroundings in Resat Nuri Güntekin's Novel "Ateş Gecesi" (Night of Fire)

Abstract

Milas district, located in the province of Muğla, is a rich settlement in terms of historical and cultural monuments. Among the mentioned monuments in the settlement, especially religious monuments exhibit a great diversity and cover a wide range of historical periods. This diversity and historical range are directly related to cultural and religious communities that have lived in the region. However, some religious monuments in the district are disappearing or losing their architectural identities to a great extent due to reasons such as lack of preservation awareness, property issues, and neglect by users. One of the most important religious monuments that has largely lost its architectural identity in the Milas district is the Milas Greek Orthodox Church. This monument holds significant importance in Milas's cultural and religious inventory. The monument and its surroundings are also described in some parts of the plots in terms of some architectural features in Reşat Nuri Güntekin's novel Ateş Gecesi (Night of Fire), which was serialized in Yedigün Magazine in 1940 and published as a book in 1942. Although it has largely lost its architectural identity today, the Milas Greek Orthodox Church is still frequently mentioned in local legends, city memories, place and location names, and city literature, as can be seen in the pages of the "Ateş Gecesi" novel. The study aims to document and evaluate the changes that the Milas Greek Orthodox Church and its surroundings have undergone from past to present in the light of the "Ateş Gecesi" novel. The study was conducted in three stages, which involved examining the spatial and architectural descriptions mentioned in the Ateş Gecesi Novel, focusing on the narratives related to the Milas Greek Orthodox Church and its surroundings, and documenting and evaluating the current conditions of the spatial and architectural descriptions mentioned in the focused narratives. As a result of the study, it was determined that the Milas Rum Orthodox Church and its surroundings had largely lost their architectural identity over approximately a century, from the time the novel was written to the present day. However, within the interior space of the church structure, many elements related to the original architectural identity are still present. In contrast, it is considered that the outer walls, garden arrangement, and boundaries of the structure have lost their original qualities. It was also found that very few examples of traditional residential buildings that constitute the regional context have survived to the present day. In addition to its cultural and religious identity, the Milas Rum Orthodox Church necessitates the development of a comprehensive architectural conservation approach for its historical and archaeological context, monument, and immediate surroundings. Therefore, it is considered crucial to plan the region between the Milas Rum Orthodox Church and Milas Kartal Gazinosu, taking into account the Çaputçu Han section, with a comprehensive conservation approach.