Historic-geographical and typo-morphological assessment of Lefke town, North Cyprus

Abstract

Morphological analysis in cities have been employed to conduct the research on the urban form and fabric of the place, that helps to determine the conservation plans or strategies of towns that reveal clues to their own history (Whithand,2001). Such analysis methods are a process that reviews the evolution and evaluation of towns throughout history. This paper focuses on, Conzen and Caniggia's ideas, MRG Conzen's historic-geographical approaches (1968) on planning level and Caniggia's typo-morphological process (2001) on architectural level. Those methodologies help to understand the transformation procedure of different regions of city throughout the years and recovering how the city elements and urban hierarchy are interrelated. Additionally, the focus of this paper is to study the town's morphological transformations, regarding its spatial, geographical and historical combinations. Within this context, Geographical and historical surveys done on the whole town of Lefke, in northwest Cyprus, and a detailed explanation on the typo-morphological analyses of some particular regions will be given in this article. One of the significant character that makes the town unique is its historical background which lay down with an organic urban pattern from Ottoman period. Lefke town was first formed with a medieval character, and through centuries of functional and physical transformations, has been highly influenced by British extensions, which were either prearranged modifications affected by socio- natural, economic, and political situations, or instinctive and spontaneous changes. All these historical factors, along with its geographical features, make Lefke an interesting case to be studied with an urban typo-morphological approach.