Orchard Houses were a notable part of Ankara’s traditional urban life by the end of the 19th and early 20th Century, and represented a tradition of “move to the country” as an indispensable element of the lifestyle of the day, till late 1950s. The aim of the project implemented to study the life at country houses in Keçiören and Çankaya in the early years of the Republic is to shed light on the social life of the families who experienced or witnessed life at orchard houses, and to review an important part of our social history through a glance at authentic information regarding the customs and traditions.

The project was based on oral history, and entailed interviews with 45 participants. The efforts to review the findings and publish the results are still in progress.