The Houses of Harran

Harran

Last year, I picked up a paperback of DUNE for my son. It was on the 9th grade reading list, see. Plus I remembered something about giant sandworms, which I thought he might like. Yeah.
Last week, I finally dusted off my dear son's paperback shelf, and I read the book myself.

(For the record, sandworms are really cool. Movie bonus: Sting! (aka: that singer I'm obsesssed with) I added the extended edition to my Netflix queue, and it can't get here fast enough.)

The surprise of DUNE, for me, was the middle eastern inspired desert culture of the Fremen, and the mysticism throughout. The expansive ecology and elaborate system of water capture of the planet Arrakis made me sit up and pay attention. Yep. DUNE is epic. But you knew that.

I'm not trying to be epic, but I do want to incorporate realistic culture/ecology into my own work, so this thread goes back to my musings on Hattusa. And Harran.

Harran is not very close to Hattusa, but the lack of trees is bringing the two locations together in my head. My story is set in a semi-arid wilderness. Resources are precious.

Like my previous post on cow pies, I'm following the scarcity of wood, and the houses of Harran inspire for that reason alone. Their bricks are made with mud and hay. Not a single stick is used in the structure.The distinctive beehive rooftop design dates back something like 3000 years. 3000 years! The shape helps heat rise and keeps the people cool in the long, hot summer.

The houses are no longer in use -tourists excepted.

The people moved out to a more modern, flat-roofed village nearby, but they still maintain the same reverent use of resources. They twist hay into ropes and use it to make bales. Then they pile the bales in a (beehive-like) pyramid on top of each house, providing insulation and convenient fodder storage for the winter.

I'm just not sure how they tie everything down so the wolf doesn't blow it away.